Implementing a Nurse-Driven Aromatherapy Protocol to Decrease the Effect of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV)

Treatments: Other: Ginger Essential Oil; Other: Lavender Essential Oil

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04822844

HSC-SN-20-1306

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is a quality improvement project that aims to assess the effect of nurse-driven administration of essential oil aromatherapy on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients while in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) after general anesthesia.

Full description

In this three-month quality improvement project, nurse-driven aromatherapy will be offered to all patients in the main PACU setting at the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) Houston Healthcare Southeast Hospital after they have undergone surgical procedures with general anesthesia, with the exception of patients who report allergies or sensitivity to ginger or lavender essential oils (EO) and patients who wish to be excluded from the project.

Enrollment: 200 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• PACU patients who are in the main PACU setting at HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast Hospital after having undergone general anesthesia for a surgical procedure

Exclusion criteria

• patients with allergies or sensitivity to ginger or lavender essential oils
• patients who wish to be excluded from the project

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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200 participants in 1 patient group

Aromatherapy with Essential Oil

Experimental group

Description:

Within 5 minutes of arrival at the PACU, the PACU nurse will proactively offer the patient a 2x2 gauze with two drops of essential oil (patient's choice of ginger or lavender essential oil) for all patients who have opted to participate, regardless of their nausea and vomiting status. Participating patients will continue to use the essential oil during their stay in the PACU, which is typically 45-60 minutes.

Treatment:

Other: Lavender Essential Oil

Other: Ginger Essential Oil