title: Both lavender fleur oil and unscented oil aromatherapy reduce preoperative anxiety in breast surgery patients: a randomized trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to determine whether lavender fleur oil (LFO) aromatherapy would reduce anxiety when administered to women before undergoing breast surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a single-site, randomized study comparing the effect of LFO to unscented oil (UO).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in the preoperative holding area of the ambulatory surgery department of NYU Langone Medical Center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety three women, 18 years and older, scheduled for breast surgery. Women meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria were randomized to either LFO or UO aromatherapy and were blind to their assigned treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects completed a Speilberger State Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI) before and after aromatherapy. Vital signs were recorded before and after aromatherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  STAI-State questions were divided into positive and negative emotions for analysis. Before aromatherapy, there was no significant difference between groups by individual questions or overall average answer of either positive or negative questions. The use of both LFO and UO increased the positive STAI score totals, with the LFO group having a slightly, but statistically significant, greater increase. Both resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the negative score totals after treatment. There were no differences in vital signs between groups for either treatment. Following the conclusion of the trial LFO was analyzed and found to contain a very low content of the 2 major Lavandula angustifolia constituents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both LFO and UO aromatherapy treatments lowered anxiety before surgery despite no significant changes in vital signs. LFO treatment generated a slight but statistically significant increase in positive feelings compared with UO treatment. It is probable that the beneficial effect observed was due to both aromatherapy with LFO and a placebo effect related to the added attention given to the patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: lola.franco@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Lola
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: thomas.blanck@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Thomas J J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Blanck
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: kimberly.dugan325@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dugan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: richard.kline@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: gshan0164@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Geetha
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
authors.affiliation: NYU School of Medicine. Electronic address: Angela.galotti@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: abergen26@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Annelise
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Bergen Granell
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016. Electronic address: michael.wajda@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wajda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D019341:Aromatherapy / Q000379:methods*; D001940:Breast / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D027523:Lavandula / Q000737:chemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils; C045718:lavender oil
keywords: Anxiety; Aromatherapy; Lavender; Preoperative