Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study: Effects of Lavender Aromatherapy on Preoperative Anxiety in Breast Patients

January 19, 2017 updated by: NYU Langone Health

A Randomized Prospective Placebo-Controlled Study of the Effects of Lavender Aromatherapy on Preoperative Anxiety in Breast Surgery Patients

The study is designed to see if lavender aroma therapy reduces pre-operative anxiety in breast surgery patients.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Many patients undergoing surgery experience anxiety in the preoperative setting. Pharmacologic anxiolytics require monitoring and cause excess sedation which often interferes with the ability to assess and obtain consent from a patient in the preoperative holding area. Lavender aromatherapy is an alternative treatment for anxiety which is safe, inexpensive, easy to administer, and not overly sedating. In addition to its benefits in the preoperative setting, anxiolysis and reduction in sympathetic drive can lead to reduction in the intraoperative anesthetic and postoperative analgesic requirements. This in turn can lead to faster recovery and expedited discharge from the post anesthesia care unit.

In the proposed study, we would evaluate the efficacy of aromatherapy with lavender oil in reducing anxiety prior to breast surgery. The study group would receive lavender oil preoperatively and the placebo group would receive unscented oil preoperatively. Before and after treatment, anxiety level would be measured using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Additionally, vital signs and Bispectral index (BIS) will be measured before and after treatment, as further indicators of anxiety level. We hypothesize that lavender aromatherapy will decrease anxiety and subsequently will reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and BIS.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

93

Phase

  • 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
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • NYU Langone Medical Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Female; Age 18+; American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I-III; undergoing elective breast surgery

Exclusion Criteria: Male; History of asthma/bronchitis/Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)/contact dermatitis to cosmetic fragrances/pregnancy; significant laboratory abnormalities.

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 Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Lavender oil
Lavender oil aromatherapy
Other: Lavender oil
2 drops for aromatherapy
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Placebo -- unscented oil aromatherapy
Other: Placebo
2 drops unscented mineral oil for aromatherapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anxiety Reduction
Time Frame: 20 minutes before surgery (pre aromatherapy) and 10 minutes before surgery (post aromatherapy)
We hoped to show that lavender aroma therapy reduces preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing breast. The Trait subscale (STAI-TRAID) of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered before and after 10 minutes of aromatherapy treatment pre-surgery. The TRAIT subscale contains 20 questions scored on a Likert scale from 1-4; item scores are summed for a total score ranging from 20 to 80, with higher scores indicating higher anxiety. Change in anxiety was calculated as the score pre-aromatherapy minus the score post-aromatherapy. Higher positive change scores indicate greater reductions in anxiety.
20 minutes before surgery (pre aromatherapy) and 10 minutes before surgery (post aromatherapy)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

NYU Langone Health

Investigators

  • Study Director: Michael Wajda, MD, NYU School of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

January 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 18, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 18, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

April 23, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 3, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 19, 2017

Last Verified

January 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 12-03152

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

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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