| Background: Anxiety and pain are recognized as major problems of burn patients; because
pharmaceutical treatments for controlling anxiety and pain symptoms lead to complications
and an increase in health costs, nonpharmacological nursing interventions were
considered for this group of patients. This led to the present study aimed at comparing
the effect of aromatherapy massage with inhalation aromatherapy for anxiety and pain in
burn patients.
Methods: This single-blind clinical trial was carried out on 90 patients with burns <20%.
Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups, namely aromatherapy massage,
inhalation aromatherapy, and control group. The patients assigned to the aromatherapy
massage group received a massage for half an hour using a blend of lavender and almond
oils, while a blend of rose and lavender aroma was used for the inhalation aromatherapy
group. Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory was used for measuring anxiety and the visual
analog scale (VAS) scale was used for measuring pain.
Results: The results showed that three groups were equal in terms of demographics, disease
characteristics, and scores of anxiety and pain at the baseline. The mean decreases of
anxiety scores were 0.04 5.08, 6.33 12.55, and 6.43 10.60 in the control group,
aromatherapy massage group, and inhalation group, respectively ( p = 0.007). The mean
decrease of pain scores were 0.10 0.96, 1.70 1.84, and 0.97 1.56 in the control group,
aromatherapy massage group, and inhalation group, respectively ( p < 0.001). |