Does Aromatherapy Decrease Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting?

January 7, 2019 updated by: The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
Aromatherapy has been proven to be effective for treating patients with postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after surgery, but few studies analyze its effect on preventing PONV. Most studies use aromatherapy once patients become nauseous, but this study will address a gap in the literature with relation to the effect of aromatherapy in the prevention of PONV.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine if aromatherapy will prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Peppermint aromatherapy will be used preemptively to test for effectiveness, decreased PONV, and the ability to avoid anti-emetics. This study will seek to demonstrate that peppermint aromatherapy is a simple, cost effective way to prevent PONV after anesthesia. By decreasing the need for anti-emetics and incidence of PONV, patients may have a quicker recovery time and experience less side effects from anti-emetics, such as increased sedation. This problem is significant to patients and society as it may demonstrate that the inhalation of peppermint can ease PONV and decrease costs due to anti-emetics, wound dehiscence, and prolonged hospital stay. This study may lead to higher levels of patient satisfaction; if the patients are not nauseated they may be more satisfied with their care.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

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
    • Texas
      • Galveston, Texas, United States, 77555
        • University of Texas Medical Branch

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

16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult surgical patients ages 18 and older.
  • Patients deemed medically stable by their surgery team.
  • Anesthesia and Surgeon faculty approval will be obtained prior to asking the patient for their consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Minors
  • Unstable patients, such as ICU patients or intubated patients, pregnant women, and prisoners.
  • Patients with a history of severe PONV or severe delirium on emergence from anesthesia will be excluded.

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Peppermint oil
A cotton ball with three drops of peppermint oil will be waved under the patient's nares upon arrival to the recovery room. The patients will be assessed for PONV for up to an hour in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) or until their discharge, whichever is first.
Other: Peppermint oil
A cotton ball with three drops of peppermint oil will be waved under the patient's nares.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Decrease incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)
Time Frame: Patients will be monitored for up to one hour after surgery to test effectiveness of peppermint oil at decreasing PONV.
Decreased severity of PONV rating with peppermint aromatherapy
Patients will be monitored for up to one hour after surgery to test effectiveness of peppermint oil at decreasing PONV.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michelle S Karsten, RN, BSN, University of Texas

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)

June 15, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 15, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

December 15, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 23, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 3, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

July 5, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 9, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 7, 2019

Last Verified

June 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 18-0058

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

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.

Clinical Trials on Nausea, Postoperative

Clinical Trials on Peppermint oil

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Austria

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe