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Preoperative anxiety and stress are present in up to 60% of pediatric patients undergoing surgery, having a great physiological and emotional impact on children in both the short and long term. There are many reports on the use of music therapy in the perioperative period as a complementary technique in the preoperative stress and anxiety management. However, there are no assessments of the effect of this intervention on the physiological variables, such as salivary cortisol.

60 patients aged 5-7 years, ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) status I-II, scheduled for general surgery at the Hospital of the Catholic University and associate institutions, will be considered for inclusion. 30 will receive music as intervention and 30 will received usual treatment. Salivary cortisol samples will be obtained preoperatively, in the surgical ward (OR), and in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Secondary outcomes will be M-YPAS (Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale) for children, and STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) for parents scales.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elective surgery
• ASA I-II
• Parents' consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of endocrine diseases (hypothyroidism, treatment with growth hormone, severely obese)
• Taking glucocorticoid inhalers or oral corticosteroids
• Children with severe hearing problems
• Patients requiring emergency surgery
• Refusal to participate in the study