Lavender aromatherapy reduced preoperative anxiety in a study of ambulatory surgery patients undergoing procedures in general otolaryngology.
Lavender aromatherapy reduced preoperative anxiety in a study of ambulatory surgery patients undergoing procedures in general otolaryngology. The effect observed in the Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology study was modest, however.
In the 100-patient study, the experimental group received inhalation lavender aromatherapy in the preoperative waiting area while the control group received standard nursing care. Both groups reported their anxiety with a visual analog scale upon arriving to the preoperative waiting area and upon departure to the operating room.
“Preoperative anxiety is associated with increased use of narcotics and anesthetics, prolonged duration of hospitalization, and reduced ability to fight infection and comprehend information about surgery,” said senior author Ashutosh Kacker, MD of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College. “Given the simplicity, safety, and cost-effectiveness of aromatherapy, healthcare providers should consider its use for managing this common problem.”
Additional Information
Link to Study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lio2.121/full
About Journal
Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology, an official journal of The Triological Society, is a peer-reviewed, open access journal focused on the rapid dissemination of the science and practice of otolaryngology head and neck surgery. As a companion journal to The Laryngoscope, the focus of Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology is to publish high quality original peer-reviewed research, across the spectrum of basic and clinical research, in an open access format to the world-wide community. The Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology journal will publish contributions in the form of comprehensive reviews, research articles, clinical trials, short reports, in-depth perspectives, open-peer commentaries, theoretical and/or translational papers. Negative results and confirmatory studies may be published as short communications.
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