Effects of aromatherapy on improving perioperative anxiety and sleep in patients with gastric cancer

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of aromatherapy on improving perioperative anxiety and sleep in patients with gastric cancer. Methods A total of 120 patients undergoing gastrectomy from December 2016 to July 2017 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were selected in the study using convenient sampling. The participants were randomly divided into the intervention group (n=60) and the control group (n=60) . Based on the routine nursing care, the intervention group received additional geranium aromatherapy from 9 pm to 6 am at one day before the surgery. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to evaluate the anxiety and sleep quality. The blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were compared before and after the intervention. Results The repeated ANOVA showed that BP, HR and the SAS points had time and groups interactions at one day before the surgery, one hour before the surgery and one day after the surgery. There were no statistically significant differences in PSQI at one day before the surgery between two groups (P>0.05) . But after the aromatherapy, the intervention group had significantly lower PSQI than before operation, and lower than the control group (P<0.01) . Conclusions The aromatherapy can effectively alleviate anxiety, improve sleep quality and stabilize BP and HR in patients with gastrectomy. Key words: Gastric neoplasms; Perioperative; Aromatherapy; Anxiety; Sleep quality