the effect of damask rose aromatherapy on anxiety and pain in endoscopic lithotripsy patients: a double-blind randomized clinical trial

Background: aromatherapy is a modality within the realm of alternative medicine to manage pain and alleviate anxiety in high-stress circumstances. the primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of damask rose on the levels of anxiety and pain experienced by patients under endoscopic lithotripsy.methods: the present double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted at hospitals in shiraz, iran, in 2022, involving 120 patients undergoing endoscopic lithotripsy. these patients were randomly allocated into control and intervention groups using a permuted block design. the data collection was done using the spielberger and the visual analog scale questionnaires at three stages: the baseline period, the pre-operative holding area, and six hours following the surgical procedure. the intervention group was exposed to a cotton swab infused with three drops of damask rose for a duration of 30 minutes. the data analysis included descriptive statistics, repeated measure analysis of variance, and pairwise comparisons utilizing the bonferroni post hoc test.results: the mean levels of overt anxiety in the intervention group during the first and second phases of the intervention were 46.17±7.18 (p<0.001) and 46.32±3.24 (p=0.021). furthermore, the mean covert anxiety levels in the intervention group throughout the first and second phases were found to be 45.10±7.83 (p=0.003) and 45.87±3.59 (p<0.001). the intervention group exhibited a mean pain level of 5.7±1.01 during the initial phase and 2.53±0.81 throughout the second phase (p<0.001).conclusion: the findings of this study indicated that rose aromatherapy reduced both overt and covert anxiety levels, as well as the pain experienced by patients both pre- and post-endoscopic lithotripsy.