A Feasibility Study of The Effects of Lavandula Angustifolia Aromatherapy on the Incidence and Severity of Acute Pain in Pediatric Patients

The purpose of this research was to estimate the feasibility of an alternative pain management intervention to reduce pain and distress caused by venipunctures in a pediatric population. The feasibility of the use of the aromatherapy essential oil Lavandula angustifolia for pain management intervention (Treatment Group) was compared to placebo aromatherapy with jojoba oil (Placebo Control Group) and to the current standard of care, which is no oil during a venipuncture (Standard of Care Control Group). Measures of heart rate, anxiety, and procedural pain were assessed using a double-blind randomized design and were taken over the course of ten minutes. This was done to note the pattern of change that occurs during anticipatory anxiety resulting from the impending procedure, the procedural pain experienced during the venipuncture, and the residual fear common after completion of the venipuncture procedure. 71% of those approached were interested in participating. 100% of participants who were enrolled completed the intervention, including inhaling the full dose of the oil, and 66.7% completed all research procedures within ten minutes or less. Outcome measures of pain and anxiety were not significantly different between the three groups. The Treatment Group rated the procedure as the most painful and had the highest level of pre-procedural anxiety, yet these participants had the lowest measure of heart rate during venipuncture and lowest level of post-procedural anxiety. Given that this group had lower measures than the Placebo Control Group and Standard of Care Control Group, there is mild evidence supporting that L. angustifolia may decrease psychological and physiological indices of procedural pain. Future research with a larger sample size is needed to further investigate the efficacy of L. angustifolia during pediatric venipuncture.