The effect of damask rose aromatherapy on anxiety and pain in endoscopic lithotripsy patients: A Double-blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Aromatherapy is a modality within the realm of alternative medicine to manage pain and alleviate anxiety in high-stress circumstances. The primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of damask rose on the levels of anxiety and pain experienced by patients under endoscopic lithotripsy. Methods: The present double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted at hospitals in Shiraz, Iran, in 2022, involving 120 patients undergoing endoscopic lithotripsy. These patients were randomly allocated into control and intervention groups using a permuted block design. The data collection was done using the Spielberger and the Visual Analog Scale questionnaires at three stages: the baseline period, the pre-operative holding area, and six hours following the surgical procedure. The intervention group was exposed to a cotton swab infused with three drops of damask rose for a duration of 30 minutes. The data analysis included descriptive statistics, repeated measure analysis of variance, and pairwise comparisons utilizing the Bonferroni post hoc test. Results: The mean levels of overt anxiety in the intervention group during the first and second phases of the intervention were 46.17±7.18 (P<0.001) and 46.32±3.24 (P=0.021). Furthermore, the mean covert anxiety levels in the intervention group throughout the first and second phases were found to be 45.10±7.83 (P=0.003) and 45.87±3.59 (P<0.001). The intervention group exhibited a mean pain level of 5.7±1.01 during the initial phase and 2.53±0.81 throughout the second phase (P<0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that rose aromatherapy reduced both overt and covert anxiety levels, as well as the pain experienced by patients both pre- and post-endoscopic lithotripsy.

Keywords

• anxiety
• pain
• aromatherapy
• lithotripsy
• endoscopy