The effectiveness of familiar olfactory stimulation with lavender scent and glucose on the pain of blood sampling in term neonates: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: Neonates are exposed to multiple painful invasive procedures. Pain management in neonates is an ethical and important task for nurses. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of familiar olfactory stimulation with lavender scent and glucose on the pain of blood sampling in term neonates.

Design: A randomized, single blind clinical trial.

Setting: Hashemi Nezhad Hospital (Mashhad, Iran).

Intervention: Before and during blood sampling, one group was exposed to the scent of lavender (n = 40), the second group received 2 ml of edible glucose 30 % (n = 40), two minutes before the blood sampling, and the third group received no specific intervention (n = 40).

Main outcome measures: Simultaneously with needle insertion, the Douleur Aigue du Nouveau-ne (DAN) scale was used to calculate the pain score. The duration of crying (in seconds) was measured from start to end (silence).

Results: The study participants' mean age was 5.49 ± 2.13 days; 60 % of them were girls, and 65.8 % had the gestational age of 38-39 weeks. The mean pain scores were 4.47 ± 1.81, 4.80 ± 1.92, and 5.97 ± 1.94 in the aromatherapy group, the glucose group, and the control group respectively (p < 0.001). No significant difference was recorded between the groups regarding the crying time (P = 0.12).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that use of aromatherapy with lavender and edible glucose as easy and applicable nursing care can reduce the pain of blood sampling in term neonates and can be considered as effective interventions in neonate pain management, although more research is recommended.

Keywords: Blood specimen collection; Glucose; Lavandula; Neonate; Pain.