The Effects of Aroma Essential Oil Inhalation on Stress, Pain, and Sleep Quality in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Purpose: Patients undergoing cholecystectomy report experiencing stress related to the surgery, complaining of pain and poor sleep quality. Aromatherapy is known to have positive effects on these complaints. However, the effect of aromatherapy on cholecystectomy patients has yet to be determined. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the effects of aromatherapy on laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients' stress, pain, and sleep quality. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial involving 69 adults who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Essential oil therapy was given to an intervention group, and almond oil was given to a placebo group. The outcome variables were stress, pain, and sleep quality. Results: There were no differences between the groups in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics and pretreatment dependent variables. After the intervention, subjective stress (F ¼ 7.43, p < .001), objective stress (F ¼ 2.70, p ¼ .034), parasympathetic nerve activity (F ¼ 2.65, p ¼ .036), pain (F ¼ 8.74, p < .001), analgesics administration (F ¼ 22.43, p < .001), and sleep quality (F ¼ 5.23, p < .001) were significantly different between the intervention, placebo, and control groups. Sympathetic nerve activity was not significantly different. The effect sizes regarding the sleep quality of the intervention versus control group and the intervention versus placebo group were 1.92 and 1.52, respectively. Conclusion: Postoperative aromatherapy received by cholecystectomy patients was effective in reducing stress and pain and improving sleep quality. No side effects of aromatherapy were reported during the experimental treatment.

Efficacy of Essential Oils in Relieving Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…After title and abstract screening, 22 records are left. In particular, the papers by Oyston and McGee, 2012 [ 60 ], by Lee and Park, 2018 [ 61 ], and by Cheong et al, 2022 [ 62 ] are not available in full text; therefore, they are excluded. The articles of Xiao and collaborators (2018) [ 63 ] and of Chang, 2008 [ 64 ] are excluded due to being in Chinese.…”

Inhalation of Origanum majorana L. essential oil while working reduces perceived stress and anxiety levels of nurses in a COVID-19 intensive care unit: a randomized controlled trial

“…The VAS-stress score is appropriate for the clinical evaluation of selfreported stress levels and is widely used to measure perceived stress (31). A previous study of patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy found that the mean subjective stress level was significantly decreased after inhalation of a blend of essential oil from marjoram, lavender, ylang-ylang, and neroli, and that inhalation was also associated with increased parasympathetic nerve activity (32). Therefore, inhalation of 3% essential oil while at work may be effective in reducing the perceived stress levels of nurses working in a COVID-19 ICU.…”

The Use of Lavender Aromatherapy for Pain After Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty

“…Patients receiving lavender inhalation had significantly reduced postoperative pain at 4, 8, and 12 hours and reported greater satisfaction with analgesia. Other studies have shown the efficacy of aromatherapy in reducing pain, anxiety, and stress in a variety of postoperative populations including pediatric post-tonsillectomy (Soltani et al, 2013), abdominal surgery (Stallings Welden et al, 2021), post-breast cancer surgery (Tola et al, 2021), post-laparoscopic gastric binding, post-appendectomy, and post-cholecystectomy (Lee & Hur, 2022). Another systematic review by Nascimento et al (2022) examined the inhalation of aromatherapy for pain relief.…”