ArticleBJS open2022
The effect of background music on stress in the operating surgeon: scoping review.
Article in BJS open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Occupational hazards in hip and knee adult reconstruction surgery : a systematic review of physical and psychological stressors.Bone & joint open · 2026Pooled it
- Randomized cross-over trial comparing stress responses amongst undergraduates and surgeons with and without background music during simulated surgery.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- A qualitative exploration of the perceptions of music use by healthcare professionals in the operating theatre (the BACH study).Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Practical Approaches to Balancing Music and Safety in the Operating Room: A Systematic and Narrative Review.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Effect of Music Listening on Neurocognition, Stress, and Performance in Neurosurgeons During Microsurgery.World neurosurgery · 2024Article
- Effect of noise on the performance of arthroscopic simulator.Surgery open science · 2024Article
- Can Music Reduce Stress and Anxiety in the Operating Room Team? Insights from a Cross-Sectional Study in Northern Italy Healthcare Services.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2024Article
- Broad Responses and Attitudes to Having Music in Surgery (The BRAHMS Study): An Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Perspective.Surgery open science · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the ubiquitous sounds of music playing in operating theatres (OTs) around the world, the effect that music has on intraoperative clinician stress is ill-defined. In the present scoping review the aim was to map the available evidence for the effect of background music in the OT on the experience of stress in the operating surgeon.
methodsThe present review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA Protocols for Scoping Reviews. Using Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane databases, peer-reviewed research studies reporting the effect of intraoperative background music on an outcome measure of clinician stress or respondent perceptions on this effect were included.
resultsA total of 4342 studies were screened and 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 10 were interventional studies, and five were observational survey-based studies. Of the 10 interventional studies, four showed reduced anxiety and mental workload scores with music, although only two demonstrated a significant improvement in a physiological outcome. The survey-based studies generally reported a positive perception among surgeons and theatre staff towards the effect of music on OT stress.
conclusionWhile there is generally a positive perception towards intraoperative music and surgeon stress, there are few objective physiological and psychological data to support this. Studies were varied in their design. The present review can be used to guide future experimental, observational, and mixed-method research on this topic.
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