Watching a Movie Reduces Need for Anesthesia

A first-of-its-kind study found that patients who watched a movie while under regional anesthesia were more comfortable and required less medication. The study results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Las Vegas (NV, USA) in October 2004.

The study involved two groups. In one group, patients were allowed to watch a movie through a goggle-type device worn throughout the operation. The second group did not watch a movie. The researchers found that although both groups were comfortable during surgery, the use of anesthetic medication was less with the group using the movie-watching device.

"The aim of the study was to create an environment that is more pleasing for patients, thereby making the experience more positive and less traumatic,” explained Dr. Akash Bajaj, M.D., associate professor, Harbor-University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center (USA). "Every single patient that utilized the device was quite satisfied with it, and all exclaimed that it was a positive experience.”

Dr. Bajaj believes the movie device with have an impact on the future of regional anesthesia because it achieves a doctor's ultimate goal in surgery: superior patient care with less risk. "The results show that the same state of comfort and sedation that anesthesiologists usually create for their patients using medications was duplicated with the use of the device as a replacement to some of these medications.”