Effect of inhalation of Lavender essential oil on vital signs in ICU open-heart surgery

This study evaluated the effects of inhalation of Lavender essential oil on vital signs in ICU open-heart surgery. This study is a clinical single-blind trial. The study was conducted on 40 patients who had open-heart surgery in the Cardiac ICU of two Hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2012. Criteria included: full Consciousness, lack of hemorrhage, lack of heart rate reduction and hypotension, spontaneous breathing ability and not using synthetic opioids within 2 hours before extubation. After extubation, the patients' vital signs (include: BP, HR, CVP, SPO2, RR) were measured. Then, a cotton swab which was impregnated with 2 drops of Lavender essential oil 2% was placed in their oxygen mask, and they got breath for 10 minutes. Thirty minutes after aromatherapy, their vital signs were measured again. After that the rate of patient’s vital signs before and after aromatherapy were compared. The statistical paired t-test showed that there was a significant difference in systolic blood pressure (p > 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.001) and heart rate (p = 0.03) before and after the intervention. Although, the results did not show any significant difference in respiratory rate (p = 0.1), SpO2 rate (p = 0.5) and Central venous pressure (CVP) (p = 0.2) before and after inhaling Lavender essential oil. Therefore, the aromatherapy effectively reduced blood pressure and heart rate in patients admitted to the ICU open-heart surgery and can be used as an independent nursing intervention for reducing BP and HR.