COMPARING THE EFFECT OF MASSAGE AND INHALATION AROMATHERAPY ON VITAL SIGNS OF BURN PATIENTS: A SINGLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Background and aims: Changes in the vital signs of burn patients are one of the most common problems during dressing. We should look for ways to reduce pain and anxiety followed by changes in the vital signs of these patients. Aromatherapy has been introduced as a low-cost, accessible and safe way to reduce pain and anxiety in patients. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effect of aromatherapy massage and inhalation aromatherapy on vital signs in burn patients. Materials & Methods: This single-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 90 patients admitted to the burn ward of Sina Hospital in Tabriz, Iran. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: massage aromatherapy, inhalation aromatherapy and control. The vital signs of the patients were recorded in the 3 groups before and after the intervention (the control group received no intervention) and the results of the data were analyzed using SPSS software. Result: The results of this study showed that the massage therapy reduces systolic blood pressure, respiratory rate and heart rate in burn patients and the inhalation aromatherapy reduces systolic blood pressure in these patients. Conclusion: Using aromatherapy methods can lead to fewer changes in the vital signs of burn patients and ultimately reduce the duration of hospitalization and burn complications.