Live piano in the ICU: a soothing tune for critical care?
NCT ID NCT03948984
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a 20-minute live classical music session (piano with or without flute) could help reduce anxiety and pain and increase relaxation in critically ill ICU patients. Researchers also looked at how patients, families, and staff felt about the music. The study included 111 adult ICU patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- therapeutic live classical music session
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, drug-free way to help ICU patients feel less anxious and more relaxed during their hospital stay.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study with only 111 patients at one hospital, so results may not apply to all ICUs. The music may not help everyone, and some patients may find it distracting or unpleasant.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
111 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2022
- Finished
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Feb 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Patient Inclusion Criteria: * Current hospitalization in adult ICU at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Patient Exclusion Criteria: * Airborne or special contact isolation * Unstable hypotension or bradycardia * Pregnancy * Current prisoner status * The inability to communicate either verbally or in writing in English to complete the therapeutic music evaluations * Refusal to participate Family Member Inclusion Criteria * Family member of ICU patient Family Member Exclusion Criteria * The inability to communicate either verbally or in writing English to complete the therapeutic music evaluations * Refusal to participate ICU Clinical Staff Inclusion Criteria * ICU clinical staff who are in the patient's room during the music session ICU Clinical Staff Exclusion Criteria * Refusal to participate
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37212, United States
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