Effectiveness of aromatherapy in decreasing maternal anxiety for a sick child undergoing infusion in a paediatric clinic.

Objectives: We examined whether aromatherapy involving inhalation of yuzu (Citrus ichangensis×Citrus reticulata) oil was effective in decreasing mothers' anxiety for her sick child receiving an infusion at a paediatric clinic.

Design: Controlled clinical trial.

Setting: Mothers of sick children who arrived at the hospital were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. After a doctor examined the child and confirmed the necessity for infusion, the mothers who agreed to participate in our study were allocated to an aromatherapy or a control group.

Interventions: A diffuser was filled with yuzu oil before the subjects entered the aromatherapy room. The mother was shown how to use the aromatherapy diffuser while the child was receiving an infusion in the same room. Fifteen minutes after entering the room, the mothers were asked to complete an another questionnaire.

Main Outcome Measures: We measured the mother's anxiety with the state anxiety score from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

Results: There were 60 subjects in the aromatherapy group and 61 in the control group. Both groups were well balanced in terms of demographic characteristics. Using analysis of variance, we demonstrated a significant difference in two-factor interactions between the control and aromatherapy groups. Maternal state anxiety was significantly lower in the aromatherapy than in the control group.

Conclusions: Inhalation of yuzu oil was shown to decrease maternal anxiety for a sick child. A multicentre randomized controlled trial or double-blind study is necessary to obtain objective evidence of this benefit of aromatherapy.