SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Effects of music therapy on delirium, clinical outcomes, and psychological and sleep outcomes in adult ICU patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Delirium and psychological stress are major clinical challenges for adult ICU patients, contributing to increased mortality and resource consumption. This study evaluated the efficacy of music therapy (MT) on delirium incidence, resource utilization, and psychological and sleep outcomes. Methods: Seven electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM) were searched from inception to December 20, 2025. Following PRISMA guidelines, 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1,552 patients were included. Two researchers independently performed screening and data extraction. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2.0, and evidence certainty was graded using the GRADE system. Primary outcomes focused on delirium assessments; secondary outcomes included mortality and resource utilization; exploratory outcomes encompassed anxiety, depression, pain, and sleep. Results: A total of 863 records were identified, and 15 RCTs involving 1,552 patients were finally included. Meta-analysis indicated that music therapy significantly reduced the incidence of delirium ( Conclusion: Music therapy is a safe, low-cost non-pharmacological intervention that significantly reduces delirium risk, restores sleep architecture, alleviates anxiety and depression, and accelerates weaning from mechanical ventilation in adult ICU patients. However, due to heterogeneity and lower certainty in some secondary outcomes, larger multicenter trials are needed before routinely integrating music therapy into standard ICU and ERAS protocols. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261329297.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.