Effect of Aromatherapy Applied by Inhalation on Anxiety and Fatigue Levels in Individuals with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)

The effective management of anxiety and fatigue, which lead to negative physical, social, and psychological impacts and increase treatment costs in individuals with implanted cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), is of great importance. Complementary and integrative therapy (CIT) methods offer a non-pharmacological, easy-to-apply, and safe intervention alternative for nurses and patients experiencing these symptoms. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of lavender oil aromatherapy, applied by inhalation for two minutes with two drops before bedtime for one month, on anxiety and fatigue levels in individuals with ICD, in a randomized controlled single-blind study design. A total of 86 patients with ICD implantation were included in the study, and 43 patients were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received lavender aromatherapy for two minutes with two drops of lavender oil inhaled before bedtime every night for one month, in addition to their routine treatment. The control group received only routine treatment. The study was conducted after obtaining the necessary ethical approval, institutional permission, and informed consent from the patients. The Patient Diagnosis Form, Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Short Form (STAI-SF and STAI-TF), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for Fatigue were used in data collection. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 25.0 and G*Power program. A value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant in comparisons.