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Review
. 2023 Nov 5;12(1):e4.
doi: 10.22037/aaem.v12i1.2071. eCollection 2024.

The Effect of Aromatherapy with Lavender on Pain of Needle Insertion and Severity of Restless Legs Syndrome in Hemodialysis Patients; a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Fatemeh Izadi  1 , Seyed Amirhossein Mazhari  2 , Masoomeh Najafi  3 , Mohammad Taghi Ashoobi  4 , Milad Sarafi  5 , Samad Karkhah  6 , Pooyan Ghorbani Vajargah  6 , Poorya Takasi  6 , Mahbobeh Firooz  7 , Seyed Javad Hosseini  8 , Nurten Ozen  9
Affiliations
Review

The Effect of Aromatherapy with Lavender on Pain of Needle Insertion and Severity of Restless Legs Syndrome in Hemodialysis Patients; a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Fatemeh Izadi et al. Arch Acad Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Pain experienced during the insertion of a catheter into the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and restless legs syndrome (RLS) are prevalent issues among Hemodialysis (HD) patients. The primary objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to consolidate the findings from randomized clinical trial (RCT) studies examining the impact of aromatherapy with lavender on the pain associated with AVF catheter insertion and RLS in HD patients.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar search engine from inception to August 1, 2022, using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings, such as "Aromatherapy", "Lavender", "Arteriovenous fistula", "Pain", "Restless legs syndrome", and "Hemodialysis".

Results: Finally, eleven articles were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The results showed that aromatherapy reduced the average pain of catheter insertion in AVF compared to the control group (Standard Mean Difference: -1.60, 95% Confidence Interval: -2.32 to -0.87, Z=4.32, I2:90.3%, P<0.001). Also, aromatherapy massage reduced the average severity of RLS compared to the control group, which was statistically significant (Weighted Mean Difference: -13.21, 95% Confidence Interval: -17.50 to -8.91, Z=6.03, I2:93.0%, P<0.001). Also, the subgroup analysis showed that lavender in the intervention group significantly decreased the pain intensity compared to the "no intervention" group (P<0.001), yet it was not significant compared to the placebo group (P=0.12).

Conclusion: In summary, the findings indicate a notable reduction in catheter insertion pain in AVF and relief from RLS among HD patients through the use of lavender essential oil. As a result, future research is encouraged to include a comparison of lavender's effects with those of a placebo group.

Keywords: Aromatherapy; Arteriovenous Fistula; Lavender oil; Massage; Pain; Restless Legs Syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk-of-Bias of included studies based on Rob II.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of aromatherapy with lavender on pain of catheter insertion in arteriovenous fistula. (SMD: standard mean difference).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of aromatherapy with lavender on restless legs syndrome. (WMD: weighed mean difference).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Funnel plot for outcome of restless legs syndrome (high) and pain (low).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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