Music therapy combined with anesthesia recovery care boosts anesthesia recovery in colorectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic radical resection.

[BACKGROUND] Current standard nursing practices demonstrate limited effectiveness in perioperative colorectal cancer (CRC) management, highlighting the need to explore alternative care strategies that improve clinical outcomes.

[AIM] To investigate the impact of music therapy and anesthesia recovery care on anesthesia recovery in patients with CRC undergoing laparoscopic radical resection.

[METHODS] One hundred and twenty patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic CRC radical resection at Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University from January 2022 to May 2024 were enrolled. The patients were assigned to control ( = 60, receiving standard nursing care) and observation groups ( = 60, receiving music therapy, anesthesia recovery care, and standard nursing care). We comparatively analyzed the time to regain consciousness, extubation time, and length of stay in the postanesthesia care unit; heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure before anesthesia and during recovery; cortisol, aldosterone, norepinephrine, and adrenaline levels before anesthesia and 24 hours postoperatively; Postoperative Quality of Recovery Scale scores; and complication rates between the groups.

[RESULTS] The observation group exhibited a significantly shorter time to regain consciousness, extubation time, and postanesthesia care unit stay than the control group ( < 0.05). During the recovery period, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure significantly increased in both groups compared with preanesthesia levels, with the levels in the observation group being significantly lower than those in the control group ( < 0.05). At 24 hours postoperatively, cortisol, aldosterone, norepinephrine, and adrenaline levels were elevated in both groups compared with preanesthesia levels, with levels in the observation group being significantly lower than those in the control group ( < 0.05). The observation group achieved significantly higher Postoperative Quality of Recovery Scale scores than the control group ( < 0.05). Moreover, the complication rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (10.00% 40.00%, < 0.05).

[CONCLUSION] Music therapy combined with anesthesia recovery care remarkably boosted the quality of anesthesia recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic CRC radical resection, mitigated fluctuations in vital signs and stress responses, improved postoperative recovery quality, and reduced complication rates, demonstrating substantial clinical value.