The Effects of Aromatherapy on the Incidence and Severity of Acute Pain

April 17, 2017 updated by: Katherine Curtin, Children's National Research Institute

A Feasibility Study of the Effects of Aromatherapy on the Incidence and Severity of Acute Pain in Pediatric Patients

The purpose of this research was to estimate feasibility of an aromatherapy pain management intervention to reduce pain and distress caused by venipunctures in a pediatric population. The feasibility of the use of aromatherapy essential oil lavandula angustifolia for pain management intervention (Treatment Group) was compared to placebo aromatherapy with jojoba oil (Placebo Control Group) and to the current standard of care, which is no oil during a venipuncture (Standard of Care Control Group). Primary measured outcomes were assessed using a double-blind randomized design. The physiological measure of heart rate was taken over the course of four minutes at three different intervals to note the pattern of change that occurs during anticipatory anxiety resulting from the impending procedure, the procedural pain experienced during the venipuncture, and the residual fear common after completion of the venipuncture procedure. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and the Hospital Fears Rating Scale (HFRS) were administered to measure subjective pain and anxiety. Participants (N=21) were recruited from the Laboratory Medicine Unit of Children's National Health System. Feasibility was estimated based on the ability to inhale the full dose of oil without adverse effects and and ability to inhale the full dose within the ten-minute time frame. This study analyzed the effect of the aromatherapy pain management intervention, lavandula angustifolia aromatherapy, on the stress response of a pediatric population through observation of physiological and psychological indicators of pain and distress, in order to learn more about the pain and anxiety experienced during venipuncture and the use of aromatherapy to decrease pain and anxiety during venipuncture.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
21

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20010
        • Children's National Health System

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

7 years to 11 years (CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Scheduled for venipuncture
  • English speaking
  • Parental written consent
  • Child's verbal assent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Essential oil allergy
  • Peanut allergy (nut oils processed by manufacturer)
  • Medical hypersensitivity to smell
  • Asthma triggered by foreign scent
  • Frequent venipuncture (5 or more a year)
  • Current pain or anxiety medication

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: QUADRUPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
EXPERIMENTAL: Treatment
Pure (100%) lavender aromatherapy
Other: Lavender Aromatherapy
100% pure lavender aromatherapy was administered using person essential oil diffusor sachets, consisting of three drops of oil on a surgical sponge covered in a sealed plastic packet.
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Placebo Control
Pure (100%) jojoba aromatherapy
Other: Jojoba Aromatherapy
100% pure jojoba aromatherapy was administered using person essential oil diffusor sachets, consisting of three drops of oil on a surgical sponge covered in a sealed plastic packet. This colorless, odorless oil was used as a placebo comparator.
NO_INTERVENTION: Standard of care Control
No aromatherapy control group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentage of participants who complete the intervention in the ten-minute time frame without an adverse event, assessed by stop-watch recording and RN monitoring.
Time Frame: Minute 10
Adverse event: defined as verbalization of headache, nausea, or dislike of fragrance.
Minute 10

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Physiological-heart rate
Time Frame: Minute 3, Minute 5, Minute 7
Heart rate (raw score) as measured using a NONIN Onyx finger cuff. It took approximately 10 seconds to record. Heart rate was measured (1) two-minutes prior to venipuncture, (2) during venipuncture, and (3) two minutes post-venipuncture, covering in total a 4 minute time span.
Minute 3, Minute 5, Minute 7
Psychological- Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain
Time Frame: Minute 10
The VAS for pain is a self-report measure that assesses subjective patient pain on a scale from 0-10. It was administered at the end of the 10 minute study and took approximately one minute to administer.
Minute 10
Psychological- Hospital Fears Rating Scale (HFRS)
Time Frame: Minute 1, Minute 10
The Hospital Fears Rating Scale is a measure of subjective self-report patient anxiety. Scores range from 1-5.It was administered at minute one and again at minute 10 of the study.
Minute 1, Minute 10

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Children's National Research Institute

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
American University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Katherine B Curtin, MA, Children's National Research Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 1, 2015

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2016

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 3, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 17, 2017

First Posted (ACTUAL)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 21, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 21, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 17, 2017

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Pro0006362

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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