Article Text
PDF
Abstract
Please confirm that an ethics committee approval has been applied for or granted: Yes: I’m uploading the Ethics Committee Approval as a PDF file with this abstract submission
Background and Aims Pre-operative anxiety is associated with increased postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Aromatherapy can help manage anxiety and pain in surgical settings. This study assessed the feasibility of lavender-peppermint aromatherapy tab use and effects on perioperative anxiety and pain in patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty.
Methods This study was approved by the Hospital for Special Surgery Institutional Review Board (IRB# 2023-1715) and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06045078). Patients who met inclusion criteria and scored greater than 19 on the PROMIS Anxiety Short Form 8a were enrolled starting October 4th, 2023, and data collection was completed on April 3rd, 2024. A total of 30 participants were randomized to intervention, lavender-peppermint aromatab or control, almond oil aromatab for 72 hours starting pre-operatively and replaced every 12 hours. Participants received standardized intra-operative and post-operative protocols.
Results Participants in the lavender-peppermint group generally wore the aromatabs more consistently than the control group (figure 1) and reported higher satisfaction with the intervention. Comparing the control and intervention groups, there was no significant difference for anxiety or average pain respectively (tables 1 and 2).
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
NRS Pain
Aromatab Adherence
Conclusions Participants showed high adherence to the aromatherapy protocol; randomization may have influenced the lower adherence in the control group. This suggests it is feasible to offer lavender-peppermint aromatherapy to patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty in an orthopedic setting. In our pilot study, we observed no significant impact of aromatherapy on postoperative anxiety or pain relative to a placebo group, but high satisfaction rates.