comparison of the effects of inhaling citrus aurantium essential oil and stretching exercises on fatigue of operating room personnel

Background: operating room personnel often face high levels of fatigue due to the demanding nature of surgical procedures. this study aimed to compare the impact of inhaling the citrus aurantium essential and performing stretching exercises on reducing fatigue in operating room personnel in 2022.materials and methods: this was an interventional design conducted at mazandaran university of medical sciences in amol. it involved a 6-week intervention with 96 participants from educational hospitals, who were divided into control, aromatherapy, and exercise groups. data collection included demographics and fatigue assessments. after randomization, three participants withdrew from study. fatigue score was measured before the intervention and at 2, 4, and 6 weeks post-intervention. the intervention included inhaling citrus aurantium essential oil and stretching exercises. data analysis for 93 participants was conducted using anova, kruskal-wallis statistical tests, and repeated measures.results: results revealed a significant reduction in average fatigue scores after the intervention, with the exercise group at 45.77±11.71, the aroma group at 47.71±11.1, and the control group at 54.65±12.2 after 6 weeks (p <0.009). this suggests that both stretching exercises and aromatherapy positively impact fatigue levels. conclusion: in conclusion, incorporating stretching exercises and citrus aurantium essential oil inhalation is recommended to alleviate fatigue among operating room personnel, offering a potential solution to combat the challenges of fatigue in this high-pressure environment.