On the occasion of the release of the new Star Wars, a somewhat bizarre study shows that listening to the music of the film improves the ability of doctors to detect colorectal cancer.
Not so long ago, in a hospital far, far away, in Melbourne, medical researchers, just as passionate about their discipline as they were about Star Wars films, embarked on ambitious work.
They hypothesized that listening to the soundtrack of the famous saga could improve the practice of physicians when performing colonoscopies on their patients! To prove it, they recruited 103 patients from a gastroenterology unit, who had to be screened for colorectal cancer. Their findings are published in the Medical Journal of Australia, with a bit of humor in the run-up to the Christmas holidays.
Colonoscopy is a screening tool that allows you to directly view the inside of the colon. Doctors seek in particular to detect the presence of polyps in the colon, a risk factor for cancer, or benign tumors, such as adenomas.
In order to show the greatest possible rigor, the scientists specify that only humans were included in the study, because the Ewoks and Wookies, two hairy species very popular with Star Wars fans, were not entitled to give their consent. As for the Jedi, they could not be contacted to participate in the study, no doubt because they were too busy restoring peace throughout the galaxy.
Two groups of patients
The scientific literature had already looked into the effect of music in the operating theater or examination rooms in the past, but no study had so far tested it with action film music. like that of Star Wars.
Concretely, here, the 103 patients were divided into two groups, by drawing lots. 58 patients were tested to the sound of “the battle of the heroes”, one of the songs played in episode 3 of the series, while the other 45 were screened to the sound of popular songs.
The patients were sedated or lightly anesthetized as required for colonoscopy, and could not hear the music being played.
In all, five doctors participated in the experiment, and showed greater effectiveness when listening to the Star Wars soundtrack than when listening to popular music.
Jedi Doctors
It seems that the Force is powerful in the doctors, when they listen to this song. Detection rates are considerably higher: 60% for polyps versus 35% for other doctors, and 48% versus 27% for adenomas. These rates correspond to the number of polyps or adenomas removed, divided by the number of colonoscopies performed.
On the other hand, the preparation of the patient before the colonoscopy was rated as good in 57% of the cases for the doctors preparing to listen to the Star Wars soundtrack compared to 69% of the others. Too rushed maybe that the song does not start?
More seriously, if this study only testifies to an association between the music that is played in the operating room and the success of the colonoscopy, it offers a line of thought on how physicians can improve their concentration during surgery. scouts, like real Jedi masters.
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