No effect of a musical intervention on stress response to venepuncture in a neonatal population

Aim: To investigate the effect of a musical intervention on neonatal stress response to venepuncture as measured by salivary cortisol levels and pain profile scores. Methods: In a randomised control crossover trial, participants were randomised to both a control arm (sucrose) and intervention arm (sucrose and music) for routine venepuncture procedures. Salivary swabs were collected at baseline, 20 minutes post-venepuncture and 4 hours post-venepuncture. Pain levels were assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP). A total of 16 preterm neonates participated in both arms to complete the study. Results: Cortisol values were elevated at all timepoints in the intervention arm (baseline, 20 minutes, and 4 hours post-procedure) but not significantly so (P =.056, P =.3, and P =.575, respectively). Median change in cortisol values from baseline was +128.48 pg/mL (−47.66 to 517.02) at 20 minutes and +393.52 pg/mL (47.88-1221.34) at 4 hours post-procedure in the control arm compared to −69.564 pg/mL (−860.96 to 397.289) and +100.48 pg/mL (−560.46 to 842.99) at 20 minutes and 4 hours post-procedure in the intervention arm. There was no statistically significant difference observed between groups (P =.311 at 20 minutes, and P =.203 at 4 hours post-procedure). PIPP scores were not significantly different between study arms. Conclusion: Our findings did not support the additional benefit of music intervention on neonatal stress response to venepuncture in preterm infants.