The effects of aromatherapy with clove essential oil on memory function of patients during electroconvulsive therapy: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Memory impairment is a common concern after receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of clove essential oil on memory improvement after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). For this randomized controlled trial, 100 patients undergoing ECT were assigned to either the experimental group, which was to receive clove essential oil 2.5% for 5 min three times a week, or the control group, which was to receive routine care. The Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III) was used to evaluate memory in the patients before and after the first and second weeks of ECT. A blood cortisol test was also performed to measure their cortisol levels one and two weeks after the intervention. The patients’ baseline memory score did not differ between the two groups (P = 0.67). The memory score increased in the first week after ECT, it decreased in the second week in both groups but after adjusting for time, no significant differences were observed in the total memory score between the two groups (P = 0.67). The pairwise comparison of the memory score between the first and second weeks also suggested insignificant differences in the experimental group and significant differences in the controls (P = 0.01). Although cortisol levels decreased significantly in both groups after ECT (P = 0.005), the difference between the two groups was insignificant both before (P = 0.40) and after (P = 0.26) ECT. According to the present findings, clove essential oil neither improved memory in the patients nor affected their cortisol levels after ECT. Registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT2014032317072N1).