Comparison between the Effect of Ear Plug and Music in Reducing Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Elective Cesarean Section under Spinal Anesthesia

Objectives: To compare the effect of ear plug and music in reducing anxiety in patients undergoing elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia Design: A randomized, single-blind, prospective study Setting: Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran Subjects: Ninety pregnant women undergoing elective caesarian section using spinal anesthesia Intervention: The subjects were randomly divided into three groups: music group, ear plug group and control group, each including 30 individuals. Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to evaluate the individuals' anxiety before and after the intervention. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. One-way analysis of variance, Chi square, and paired samples t-test were used to compare the data. Main outcome measure (s): Anxiety Results: There were significant differences between the mean scores of the STAI questionnaire in music (21.83 +/- 11.9 vs. 13 +/- 8.02) and control groups (24.4 +/- 11.89 vs. 16.6 +/- 8.14) pre and post-test (p = 0.001) but not in ear plug group (p = 0.327). There were significant differences between the mean scores of the STAI questionnaire in music (21.83 +/- 11.9 vs. 13 +/- 8.02) and control (24.4 +/- 11.89 vs. 16.6 +/- 8.14) groups pre and post-test (p = 0.001) in parity I group. For individuals with under diploma level of education, there were significant differences between the mean scores of the STAI questionnaire in music (21.23 +/- 11.78 vs. 13.55 +/- 8.17) and control (24.96 +/- 11.61 vs. 16.17 +/- 7.45) groups pre and post-test (p < 0.05). For individuals under 30 years of age, there were significant differences between the mean scores of the STAI questionnaire in music group pre (21.60 +/- 12.51) and post-test (13.30 +/- 7.66) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Only music has effect on reducing anxiety in parity I group and those with under diploma level of education.