BACKGROUND/AIMS

Nausea and vomiting cause a feeling of illness that is frequently observed after surgical interventions, and they often lead to increased dissatisfaction and prolonged hospitalization period of the patient. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of peppermint oil inhalation on postoperative nausea and vomiting.

MATERIAL and METHODS

This study is a randomized clinical trial. Fifty-six patients who had undergone surgery at the department of orthopedics and traumatology of a university hospital between November 2015 and April 2016 and who met criteria of the study were separately investigated under experimental (n=27) and control (n=29) groups. Personal information form, Apfel Scoring System, and Visual Analog Scale were used to collect data. Peppermint oil inhalation was performed by patients in the experimental group, and all the patients were followed up to 48 h postoperatively.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups with respect to nausea existence at 6-12, 12-24, and 24- 48 h postoperatively. In the peppermint oil inhalation group (experimental), nausea existence was lower than that in the control group. Nausea was also not observed at 24-48 h postoperatively in the experimental group. According to personal Visual Analog Scale score results, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups at postoperative 2-6, 6-12, 12-24, and 24-48 h.

CONCLUSION

Peppermint oil inhalation was effective in decreasing postoperative nausea severity. In this study, it was proved that in patients susceptible to postoperative nausea and vomiting, peppermint oil inhalation is preferable to pharmacologic treatments because of its effectiveness and easy administration methods.

Keywords: Postoperative nausea and vomiting, complementary therapies, peppermint oil, nursing care