Music around surgery: interpreting a calculated estimate of anxiety relief
A review converted pooled anxiety-score effects into a number needed to treat to help explain the results.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Trials of music around surgery showed lower anxiety scores in the pooled analysis. Researchers translated that effect into an estimated number needed to treat using specified improvement thresholds. The estimate describes an additional benefit compared with trial controls, but its interpretation depends on the conversion method and definition of improvement.
This abstract-based explanation cannot assess study quality in detail. Control conditions are unspecified, and the abstract provides no direct comparison results to support its claim of similarity to benzodiazepines.
What researchers found
Additional anxiety improvement around surgery
Versus trial controls, an estimated 1 additional patient improves for every 4 receiving music: a 12 mm reduction on the Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety or 5.7 points on the six-item State-Trait Anxiety Index.
An estimate from scores
The authors used Furukawa's method to convert a standardized anxiety-score effect into a number needed to treat. This was a statistical translation, rather than a direct count of trial responders.
What the number leaves open
The estimate concerns improvement beyond what occurred in the control groups. It does not describe the total proportion of listeners who improved, and the abstract does not specify those control conditions.
The original publication
The Number Needed to Treat for Music as a Medicine against Perioperative Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Stoop JM, Verhoeven JG, Hoeks S et al.
Anesth Analg · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41294333
- Record checked
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