The Effect of Inhalation Aromatherapy with Lavender Essential oil on Pain Severity of Patients After Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: A Single-blind Randomised Clinical Trial

Abstract

Introduction: Pain control and management are the most important issues of human basic needs and healthcare. The use of aromatherapy to relieve pain has grown substantially compared with other supplementary therapies. Aroma molecules convert to nervous signals in the olfactory bulb, amygdala and the limbic system and produce therapeutic effects by causing the release of a variety of neurotransmitters such as encephalin, endorphins and serotonin. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of inhalation aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on pain severity of patients after coronary artery bypass surgery. Materials and Methods: A single-blinded randomised clinical trial was conducted with 60 patients after coronary artery bypass surgeries that were recruited during 2013 from Ekbatan Therapeutic Center of Hamadan, Iran. The intervention continued for two days for pain management. The intervention group inhaled two drops of 2% lavender essential oil, while the control group used the same amount of distilled water for 20 minutes on the second and third postoperative days. Pain was measured at baseline and 5, 30, and 60 minutes following the intervention via vital sign tests and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Independent t-test and ANOVA were performed to measure continuous variables, while chi-square was conducted for the analysis of categorical variables, using stata version 11.0. Results: The mean chest pain score decreased significantly in both groups after surgery however, there were significant differences between the aromatherapy and control groups before and after intervention only at the 30th minute (p=0.001) and 60th minute (p=0.012) on the second day after surgery. Conclusion: Inhalational aromatherapy with lavender essential oil could relief pain of patients in the first days following coronary artery bypass surgery.

Keywords

• complementary medicine
• heart surgery
• pain relief