Effect of Music Therapy on the Anxiety Level of Patients During the Administration of Ocular Intravitreal Injections

Introduction Ocular intravitreal injection is a widely used ophthalmic invasive technique to administer medication directly inside the patient's eye. Despite being usually a quick and painless intervention, some patients report nervousness and anxiety before and during the procedure. Music therapy could help in assessing this discomfort, as previous studies have shown it can beneficial, specially helping to reduce anxiety levels. Objective This study aims to assess the effect of music therapy on patients undergoing intravitreal injections and how it affects their anxiety. Methods This is a randomized, prospective, single blind, clinical trial. Patients will be divided into two groups. Group A patients will listen to classical music during the procedure (intervention). Group B patients (control), will not listen to music during the procedure. All other aspects of the procedure will be the same for both groups. To analyze the impact music therapy, patients will fill in the STAI anxiety questionnaire and will be evaluated with the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after the injection procedure. Expected results Subjects that undergo the procedure with music therapy are expected to experience less anxiety that the ones that do not. Less pain perception is also expected.