The Use of Aromatherapy in Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting: A Systematic Review

Purpose: To evaluate the following question: In adult surgical patients, does the use of aromatherapy affect the incidence of nausea and vomiting postoperatively?

Design: Systematic review of research focusing on aromatherapy and the effect on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in adult surgical patients.

Methods: A search of Medline, PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Literature, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded five randomized controlled trials.

Findings: The overall synthesis of evidence supports the use of aromatherapy in PONV. Aromatherapy has a positive effect on PONV, and therefore should be considered as a complementary therapy or as an adjunct to antiemetic medications.

Conclusions: Aromatherapy is one modality that should be considered as treatment for PONV in adult surgical patients. More research should be conducted to provide additional support in the use of aromatherapy for PONV. Future research could aim at standardizing a nausea scale that would provide more reliable and valid results in studies that research PONV.