Aromatherapy in Management of Postoperative Nausea in Post-Bariatric Surgery Patients

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: Determine the effectiveness of peppermint oil aromatherapy in relieving post-operative nausea in the bariatric surgery patient population.

Detailed Description: Healthy weight management and use of essential oils and aromatherapy as natural interventions to manage health-related issues are significantly growing interests. One frequent intervention for healthy weight management is bariatric surgery. In the post-operative period following bariatric surgery, nausea is a common consequence. Peppermint oil aromatherapy is an effective intervention for relieving nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms in the bariatric and surgical population. This study has multiple aims. One is to determine effectiveness of peppermint oil aromatherapy in relieving post-operative nausea in the bariatric surgery patient population. A second aim is to establish relative cost-effectiveness of peppermint oil aromatherapy versus traditional anti-emetic drug therapies. A third is to determine whether peppermint oil aromatherapy increases patient satisfaction versus anti-emetic drug therapies. This is a randomized study with control and experimental groups. The control group will receive no peppermint oil aromatherapy and only traditional anti-emetics as needed. The experimental group will receive peppermint oil aromatherapy and traditional anti-emetics as needed.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Bariatric surgery candidate on 7-Lime at Lancaster General Hospital
Scheduled for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic Roux-En-Y (RNY) procedures
Between ages of 18 and 70
Surgical patient of either Dr. James Ku and Dr. Joseph McPhee

Exclusion Criteria

History of excessive sensitivity to peppermint oil, allergic response to peppermint oil and who state preference against aromatherapy
Not alert and oriented or unable to follow directions will be excluded
Severe reactive airway disease such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Possible exclusion for severe hypertension or atrial fibrillation

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	Peppermint oil aromatherapy	Patients in the intervention group will receive peppermint oil aromatherapy as primary treatment for postoperative nausea. Pharmacological therapy with anti-nausea drug therapies will be available as needed. All other aspects of medical, surgical and nursing care will be standard practice for pre and post-operative care related to the bariatric surgical patient. Patients in the intervention group will be assessed every 4 hours and as needed for nausea. Post-intervention, the patient will be re-assessed for level of nausea after one hour. In the event the patient refuses peppermint oil aromatherapy and requests anti-emetic drug therapies, they are able to do so.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Count of Antiemetic Drug Therapies	4 Hours	Number of antiemetic drug therapies used in the post-operative period
Perception of Postoperative Nausea Management Survey	24 Hours	Patient satisfaction with effectiveness of postoperative nausea management
Nausea Assessment and Treatment Scale	4 Hours	Severity of post-operative nausea on a scale of 0-10

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method

Locations (1): Lancaster General Hospital
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

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