them in her recovery unit to determine if aromatherapy could prevent
the cost and hassle of using antiemetics to treat PONV.
"Let's try to initiate something that doesn't require a doctor's order.
When the nausea is mild, let's try a holistic approach," says Dr. Brown.
"If we initiate aromatherapy early enough, we may not have to use the
traditional medications like Zofran (ondansetron) and Reglan (meto-
clopramide) to treat nausea."
For her study, published in last month's AORN Journal
(osmag.net/XZ4ojQ), Dr. Brown offered post-op patients who
received general anesthesia the option of an aromatherapy patch as
an adjunct treatment for PONV or a standard Zofran antiemetic treat-
ment. The patients who opted for the aromatherapy patch, a blend of
orange and peppermint essential oils, wore it on the upper chest of
their gowns. Nurses assessed the patients' PONV levels before getting
the patch and upon their arrival in the short-stay unit using a 5-point
Likert scale: 1 for no nausea to 5 for severe nausea. Patients who
wore the patch had nausea ratings ranging from 2 to 5 before getting
it. When nurses assessed patients after 30 minutes of aromatherapy
treatment, nearly half (48%) reported their nausea had subsided.
Stephanie R. Landmesser, MSN, RN, CNOR, CCNS, a clinical nurse
specialist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia,
Pa., also decided to test the effectiveness of aromatherapy for PONV
prevention. But Ms. Landmesser decided to focus on patients receiv-
ing ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedures. Why the focus on ENT?
For one thing, ENT procedures, along with abdominal surgeries, are
considered the highest risk surgeries for PONV. So, if you want to
prove aromatherapy can prevent PONV, you may as well test that the-
ory on the procedures most likely to cause nausea and vomiting post-
op.
Another reason for using ENT patients was the otolaryngologist's
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