Effects of Music Therapy and Inhalation Aromatherapy on Pain Intensity, Anxiety, and Fear Levels in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Pain Res Manag. 2026 Feb 17;2026:9447650. doi: 10.1155/prm/9447650. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of music therapy, inhalation aromatherapy, and their combination on pain intensity, anxiety, and fear in patients undergoing coronary angiography.
METHODS: This randomized controlled trial included 128 patients assigned to four groups: control, music therapy, aromatherapy, and combined music + aromatherapy. Interventions were applied 5-10 min before the procedure and continued during angiography. Visual analog scales for assessing pain (VAS-P), anxiety (VAS-A), and fear (VAS-F), and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) were assessed pre- and postprocedure. Data were analyzed using mixed-design ANOVA to examine time, group, and time × group effects, and effect sizes (η 2) were calculated.
RESULTS: Significant time × group interactions were found for pain (η 2 = 0.205), fear (η 2 = 0.527), anxiety (η 2 = 0.550), and state anxiety (η 2 = 0.546) (all p < 0.001). All intervention groups showed greater reductions in pain, anxiety, and fear compared with the control group (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed among the three intervention groups (p > 0.05), although the combined intervention yielded the largest improvements.
CONCLUSION: Music therapy and inhalation aromatherapy reduce pain, anxiety, and fear in patients undergoing coronary angiography effectively and can be recommended as nonpharmacological nursing interventions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov.: NCT05622383.
PMID:41716781 | PMC:PMC12914083 | DOI:10.1155/prm/9447650