Effect of Geranium Inhalation Aromatherapy on Pain and Blood Pressure in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

December 5, 2025 updated by: Fahrun Nur Rosyid, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta

Effect of Geranium Inhalation Aromatherapy on Reducing Pain and Blood Pressure Among Indonesian Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial aims to examine the effect of geranium inhalation aromatherapy on pain and blood pressure among Indonesian cancer patients undergoing intravenous chemotherapy. A total of 90 participants under the age of 65 with normal BMI will be enrolled and randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will receive geranium essential oil inhalation using three drops applied to cotton and inhaled for 15 minutes during chemotherapy sessions, while the control group will receive usual care without aromatherapy. Pain intensity will be measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and blood pressure will be recorded using a standard digital blood pressure monitor before and after the intervention. This study aims to evaluate whether geranium aromatherapy can be feasibly implemented as a complementary supportive therapy during chemotherapy. Study Started Date after January 18, 2017

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy frequently experience a range of physical and psychological side effects, including pain, fatigue, nausea, sleep disturbances, and fluctuations in blood pressure. Complementary approaches such as aromatherapy are increasingly explored as supportive interventions due to their accessibility, safety, and low cost. Geranium essential oil contains bioactive components such as geraniol and citronellol, which have been noted for potential analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and relaxing properties. This study utilizes a randomized controlled trial design to evaluate the effect of geranium inhalation aromatherapy on pain and blood pressure among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at a public hospital in Surakarta, Indonesia. Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee of Dr. Moewardi General Hospital prior to participant recruitment.

Ninety patients meeting the inclusion criteria (age < 65 years, normal BMI, undergoing chemotherapy regimen 1, and providing informed consent) will be selected using simple random sampling. Participants will be randomly assigned into two equal groups: an intervention group receiving geranium inhalation aromatherapy and a control group receiving standard care without aromatherapy. The intervention consists of applying three drops of geranium essential oil onto cotton, which patients will inhale for 15 minutes during their chemotherapy sessions, conducted twice per month. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will include demographic characteristics, pain intensity measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and blood pressure recorded using an OMRON digital blood pressure monitor. Data analysis will involve paired t-tests, independent t-tests, and chi-square tests, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. This study is designed to explore potential physiological mechanisms related to aromatherapy, which may include olfactory system stimulation, relaxation responses, modulation of endogenous hormones, and autonomic regulation. The study also acknowledges possible limitations such as sample size, intervention duration, and the absence of biomarker assessments.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

90

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

  • Indonesia
    • Centre Java
      • Surakarta, Centre Java, Indonesia, 57162
        • RSUD Dr. Moewardi Surakarta

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion:

  1. Cancer patients undergoing intravenous chemotherapy (regimen 1 / series 1)
  2. Age less than 65 years
  3. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 22.9 kg/m².
  4. Willing to participate and able to provide informed consent.

Exlusion:

  1. Patients with conditions affecting the sense of smell (e.g., severe nasal obstruction or anosmia).
  2. Patients with known allergies to essential oils or plant-based aromatherapy products.
  3. Patients experiencing acute medical emergencies or unstable hemodynamic conditions during chemotherapy.
  4. Patients who withdraw consent at any stage of the study.

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
Experimental: Geranium Inhalation Aromatherapy
Participants in this arm received geranium inhalation aromatherapy during their chemotherapy session. Three drops of geranium essential oil were placed on a piece of cotton and inhaled for 15 minutes during chemotherapy, administered twice per month. Pain and blood pressure were assessed before and after the intervention
Other: Geranium Inhalation Aromatherapy
Participants received inhalation aromatherapy using geranium essential oil during their chemotherapy session. Three drops of geranium essential oil were placed on a piece of cotton positioned near the patient to allow continuous inhalation. The aromatherapy was administered for 15 minutes during chemotherapy and given twice per month. Pain intensity (VAS) and blood pressure were measured before and after each session. The control group received usual care without aromatherapy.
Other Names:
  • Geranium Essential Oil Inhalation
  • Aromatherapy with Geranium Oil
No Intervention: Usual Care / No Aromatherapy
Participants in this arm received standard chemotherapy care without any aromatherapy intervention. They underwent the same assessment procedures as the intervention group, including pre- and post-treatment measurements of pain and blood pressure, but no essential oil was administered

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Pain Intensity (Visual Analog Scale - VAS)
Time Frame: Measured immediately before and after each aromatherapy session (single-session pre-post measurement).
Pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain). Measurements were conducted immediately before the intervention and immediately after the 15-minute aromatherapy exposure during chemotherapy. The primary outcome is the change in VAS score from pre- to post-intervention.
Measured immediately before and after each aromatherapy session (single-session pre-post measurement).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Systolic Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Measured immediately before and after each aromatherapy session.
Diastolic blood pressure was measured using the OMRON HEM-7156AT blood pressure device before and after the 15-minute aromatherapy exposure. The outcome is defined as the pre-post change in diastolic blood pressure
Measured immediately before and after each aromatherapy session.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: FIK UMS, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta

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)

May 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 30, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 22, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 5, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 18, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 5, 2025

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UMS-GERANIUM-RCT2022

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared because the study did not include a data sharing plan in the ethics approval, and the dataset contains identifiable clinical information that cannot be disclosed

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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