The effect of lavender oil aromatherapy on the shoulder-tip pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Postoperative shoulder pain is one of the complications after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Medications used to treat shoulder pain have side effects. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of lavender oil aromatherapy on shoulder pain after LC. Methods: In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 64 patients who underwent LC were randomly allocated into two groups to receive lavender oil aromatherapy or routine treatment. The intervention began in the recovery room after the patient responded to stimuli. First, the patient's pain was assessed. Then, aromatherapy was started for the intervention group, and afterward, pain measurement was repeated at 5, 25, and 60 min after the intervention. The pain intensity was assessed using a visual analog scale. Patients in the control group received no intervention other than routine care and treatment, but their pain intensity was measured at the same time as patients in the intervention group. Data analysis was performed using the Chi-square, independent-samples and paired t-tests, and repeated-measures analysis. Results: The mean baseline pain severity of the control and aromatherapy groups was 6.26 ± 1.44 and 7.20 ± 1.44, respectively, and changed to 9.06 ± 0.65 and 3.73 ± 0.86 at the end of the study. Repeated-measures analysis showed that over time, the mean pain intensity was decreasing in the intervention group (P < 0.05), while it had an increasing trend in the control group. Conclusion: Lavender oil aromatherapy was effective in reducing the postsurgical shoulder pain after LC.