Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Participating subjects exposed to bergamot essential oil aromatherapy showed a greater reduction in preoperative anxiety than those in the control groups thus demonstrating the potential benefits of aromatherapy as part of a holistic approach to reducing preoperative anxiety before ambulatory surgery.
The American Holistic Association defines aromatherapy as “the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit” 1, In modern medicine, aromatherapy has been shown to have a positive effect on patients’ mood and health. It is used along with music, and massage to help patients relax before surgery in the hospital 2.
The need to control anxiety can play a role in the success of a surgical procedure. Increased anxiety can increase the difficulty of the procedure by increasing physical discomfort that could result in higher doses of medication both during and after the procedure 3. While research has shown a reliable benefit of aromatherapy to patients undergoing “general in-hospital surgery” 4,5, less research has been done on the benefits of aromatherapy to patients undergoing “outpatient ambulatory surgery”, where anxiety control is very important.
A 2013 study 6 involved 109 preoperative patients (44 men, 65 women) between the ages of 34 and 56. They received either bergamot essential oil aromatherapy (53 subjects) or a placebo (water vapor = 56 subjects) for 30 minutes prior to surgery. Before the aromatherapy/placebo exposure and then after the ambulatory surgery, each subject completed the State Trait Anxiety Inventory to assess their anxiety levels.
The researchers noted a statistically significant benefit to those receiving bergamot aromatherapy, but noted an even greater benefit to the 75 patients who had previous experience with surgery. Bergamot aromatherapy decreased anxiety levels 8.9% in the 75 patients with previous surgery experience compared to a 6.7% decrease in anxiety levels of the 34 patients without previous surgical experience.
| Patients with Experience of Previous Surgery (n=75): | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergamot | p-value | Placebo | p-value | p – value between groups |
|
| Anxiety Levels | 8.9% decrease (45.4 to 41.4) | < 0.05 | 2.4% decrease (42.0 to 41) | > 0.05 | 0.005 |
| Patients Without Experience of Previous Surgery (n=34) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergamot | p-value | Placebo | p-value | p – value between groups |
|
| Anxiety Levels | 6.7% decrease (45.4 to 42.4) | < 0.05 | 4.8% decrease (42.0 to 40) | > 0.05 | 0.021 |
When suggesting a mechanism to how bergamot elicits these health benefits, the researchers cited an animal study showing bergamot oil to affect the stress-handling part of the brain (called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) by reducing the release of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone 7.
For the researchers, “Aromatherapy may be a useful part of a holistic approach to reducing preoperative anxiety before ambulatory surgery.”
Source: Ni et al. The Anxiolytic Effect of Aromatherapy on Patients Awaiting Ambulatory Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2013, Article ID 927419, 5 pages; http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/927419
© 2013 Cheng-Hua Ni et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- Aromatherapy) NNAfH. Exploring Aromatherapy. 2017; Aromatherapy Overview. Available at: http://naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/about-aromatherapy/what-is-aromatherapy/. Accessed March 21, 2017, 2017.
- Norred CL. Minimizing preoperative anxiety with alternative caring-healing therapies. AORN journal. 2000;72(5):838-843.
- Osborn TM, Sandler NA. The effects of preoperative anxiety on intravenous sedation. Anesthesia progress. 2004;51(2):46.
- Fayazi S, Babashahi M, Rezaei M. The effect of inhalation aromatherapy on anxiety level of the patients in preoperative period. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research. 2011;16(4).
- Braden R, Reichow S, Halm MA. The use of the essential oil lavandin to reduce preoperative anxiety in surgical patients. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing. 2009;24(6):348-355.
- Ni C-H, Hou W-H, Kao C-C, et al. The anxiolytic effect of aromatherapy on patients awaiting ambulatory surgery: a randomized controlled trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013;2013.
- Saiyudthong S, Marsden CA. Acute effects of bergamot oil on anxiety‐related behaviour and corticosterone level in rats. Phytotherapy Research. 2011;25(6):858-862.
