Pain and sleep after open-heart surgery-inhalation peppermint essence: double-blind randomized clinical trial

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inhaling peppermint essence on pain relief and sleep quality after open-heart surgery. Methods In a double-blind randomised clinical trial carried out in Iran in 2020, 64 cardiac patients were selected by convenience sampling and randomly allocated to aromatherapy (n=32) and placebo (n=32) groups. The aromatherapy and control groups received inhaled aromatherapy using peppermint essence and distilled water, respectively. Data gathering tools were the Numeric Pain Rating Scale and St Mary’s Hospital Sleep Questionnaire. Data were analysed using an independent t-test, χ 2 test, Mann–Whitney U test and generalised estimating equation analysis. Results The mean severity of pain in the aromatherapy and placebo groups was 3.22±0.88 and 4.56±0.90, respectively, which was a statistically significant difference (p=0.0001). The mean sleep scores after the intervention on day 1 were 20.10±4.90 and 25.76±6.36 in the aromatherapy and placebo groups, respectively, and 18.63±5.56 and 22.62±5.69, respectively, on day 2. The difference between the two groups was statistically significantly different after the intervention in terms of sleep quality (p<0.05). Conclusion Aromatherapy attenuated pain and improved sleep quality after open-heart surgery. Peppermint essence aromatherapy is therefore recommended after surgery.