Shokoh Varaei
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Hematol Thrombo Dis
Background & Aim: Breast Cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world and in Iran. Prevalence of this disease in Iran was reported as 21.4%. One of the main alternatives for treating breast cancer is chemotherapy which causes complications, acute nausea and vomiting (24 hours after chemotherapy). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aroma therapy with peppermint on acute nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy among breast cancer patients. Methods: This study was randomized clinical trial (a post-test only design) on 100 women suffering from breast cancer who was receiving chemotherapy as outpatients hospital care, in Imam Khomeini. Before chemotherapy and after obtaining informed consent, the patients with random sampling block were randomly allocated into intervention and control group. Intervention group received routine medications for controlling nausea and vomiting as well as aroma therapy with peppermint. Meanwhile, the control group received only the routine medications. The data were gathered by using demographic and Rhodes standard questionnaire (about severity and number of nausea and vomiting). The results obtained from both groups were compared by using the SPSS version 21 software and descriptive and analytic statistics. Results: The results showed that there was no statistical difference between two groups in some variables such as age, duration of cancer, history of alcohol, history of nausea and vomiting. Use of aroma therapy with peppermint led to decrease nausea and vomiting without any complications (p<0.5). Indeed more than half of samples stated that they satisfied with aromatherapy and recommended it to others. Conclusions: Aromatherapy with peppermint in cancer patients can decrease nausea and vomiting in acute phase. It is suggested that nurses use this aroma therapy as a complementary treatment which is inexpensive and without complications for relieving the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
Email: shvaraei@sina.tums.ac.ir
