Effects of Receptive Music Therapy Combined With Virtual Reality on Prevalent Symptoms in Patients With Advanced Cancer

Effects of Receptive Music Therapy Combined With Virtual Reality on Prevailing Symptoms in Patients With Advanced Cancer

The present research seeks to determine whether a single responsive music therapy intervention combined with virtual reality (RMT+VR) reduces prevalent symptoms and improves their overall well-being in hospitalized adult patients with advanced oncologic disease receiving palliative care. This is a prospective study of a randomized clinical trial with a control group. The main variables are pain, exhaustion, drowsiness, nausea, loss of appetite, dyspnea, depression, anxiety, sleep and well-being as well as heart rate.

Music therapy has been shown to be effective in hospitalized patients, reducing the level of stress and anxiety, lowering tension, regulating breathing and relieving pain. However, despite the fact that there are many precedents of this type in palliative care, the quality of the evidence is low. The present research seeks to determine whether a single responsive music therapy intervention combined with virtual reality (RMT+VR) reduces prevalent symptoms and improves their overall well-being in hospitalized adult patients with advanced oncologic disease receiving palliative care. This is a prospective study of a randomized clinical trial with a control group. The main variables are pain, exhaustion, drowsiness, nausea, loss of appetite, dyspnea, depression, anxiety, sleep and well-being as well as heart rate. The duration of the study will be 48 hours. After signing the informed consent, patients will be randomized on the first day receiving RMT+VR, or no intervention at all. The variables will be measured on three occasions, before and after each condition, and 24 hours later.

Inclusion Criteria:

• All of them are treated by the Palliative Care Unit of the Austral University Hospital.
• Individuals ≥ 18 years of age with advanced cancer defined from the use of the NECPAL-CCOMS Instrument
• They can be hospitalized in the medical clinic service (AUH) or in the Integral Care Unit (ICUA) within the hospital, and must sign the informed consent after being duly explained by the principal investigator.
• Likewise, they must have a minimum previous ESAS-r of at least 7 points in a symptom,
• they must be able to adopt a posture of at least 45º in bed and a state of alertness and adequate response.

Exclusion Criteria:

• they should not present cognitive impairment (measured by Pfeiffer scale [21] > 2 errors)
• have functional hearing (with or without hearing aids or other devices).