A Quality Improvement Project to Determine the Effect of Aromatherapy on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in a Short-Stay Surgical Population.

Publication/Presentation Date

10-1-2018

Abstract

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a major concern for short-stay surgical patients because it can delay discharge and cause preventable postoperative complications, which in turn can increase hospital costs. Evidence suggests that aromatherapy effectively reduces PONV, either as a monotherapy or in conjunction with pharmacologic antiemetics. This quality improvement project investigated the effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing PONV in a short-stay surgical population. The outcome of this project supported the hypothesis that the administration of blended aromatherapy would result in a significant decrease in patients' self-reported ratings of nausea. This finding suggests that aromatherapy is an appropriate adjunct therapy for decreasing patient nausea and vomiting in this short-stay surgical unit and may help prevent discharge delays in this population.

Volume

108

Issue

4

First Page

361

Last Page

369

ISSN

1878-0369

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

30265393

Department(s)

Patient Care Services / Nursing

Document Type

Article

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