Study: Aromatherapy decreased postoperative patient anxiety and pain associated with oculoplastic surgery

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Aromatherapy may be a useful addition to help patients who are undergoing oculoplastic procedures under monitored anesthetic sedation. In this study, the use of aromatherapy resulted in lower postoperative anxiety and pain scores,¹ according to patient reporting.

First author Michael Chang, MD, from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, and colleagues reported their results in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The investigators conducted a randomized controlled trial of 60 patients who underwent monitored anesthesia care sedation for oculoplastic procedures from August 2018 to November 2020.

A total of 32 patients were randomized to aromatherapy and 28 to placebo. Anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and visual analog scale for anxiety, and pain was measured with a visual analog scale for pain, the authors recounted.

They reported that the patients randomized to aromatherapy had significantly lower scores for both parameters measured postoperatively. The patient and control scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory state anxiety scale were, respectively, 24.1 and 29.1 and the respective visual analog scale pain scores were 1.9 and 3.2 (p = 0.05 for both comparisons).

In addition, the patients randomized to aromatherapy also had shorter stays in the post-anesthesia care unit compared with the control patients, ie, 57.7 and 79.4 minutes, respectively (p = 0.03).

Chang and colleagues concluded, “The patients who received aromatherapy reported lower postoperative anxiety and pain. Aromatherapy may be a useful adjuvant analgesic and/or anxiolytic for patients undergoing oculoplastic procedures with monitored anesthesia care sedation.”

Reference

1. Chang M, Schaefer J, Leonard A, et al. The effect of aromatherapy on anxiety and pain in patients undergoing oculoplastic surgery. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2024;40:677-680; DOI: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002692