Lavender Aromatherapy for Anxiety During Urodynamics

Study Summary

Urodynamics are performed in the evaluation of urinary incontinence in women considering surgery or who have failed conservative therapies. Urodynamic testing requires the placement of small catheters into the bladder and the vagina or rectum. Many women experience anxiety around the procedure which can affect patient satisfaction. Lavender aromatherapy has been associated with decreased anxiety in a variety of clinical situations. The purpose of this study is to determine a difference in self-reported anxiety and pain levels before, during, and after multichannel urodynamics in patients given lavender aromatherapy versus placebo. This study design is a randomized control trial. Women scheduled for urodynamic testing at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Urogynecology clinic will be invited to participate. Participants will be randomized to the aromatherapy or the placebo group after informed consent is obtained and immediately before undergoing multichannel urodynamics. The participants will complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Survey (HADS) at baseline. They will be asked to rate their level of anxiety and pain before, during, and 15 min after the study using the visual analogue scale and Wong-Baker pain scale. At the end the participants will also be asked to rate their satisfaction with the visit overall. The primary endpoint is defined as anxiety immediately after catheters are placed. Data will be entered into a coded database for analysis using the independent samples t test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the chi square test. Intention to treat analysis will be used.

Primary Outcome

Anxiety was measured using a visual analogue scale, from 0-10 cm. All measurements were rounded to the nearest 0.5 cm. Higher values indicate more anxiety.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• OTHER Lavandula angustifolia essential oil (Aura Cacia)
• OTHER Distilled water

Study Locations (1)