Effects of inhaled ginger aromatherapy on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and health-related quality of life in women with breast cancer

• Main Authors: Lua, Pei Lin, Noor Salihah, -, Nik Mazlan, Mamat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Churchill Livingstone 2016
• Subjects: BF Psychology; R Medicine (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/7168/1/FH02-FSK-16-05255.jpg; http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/7168/
• Institution: Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin

Objective: To assess the efficacy of inhaled ginger aromatherapy on nausea, vomiting and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chemotherapy breast cancer patients. Design: Single-blind, controlled, randomized cross-over study. Patients received 5-day aromatherapy treatment using either ginger essential oil or fragrance-matched artificial placebo (ginger fragrance oil) which was instilled in a necklace in an order dictated by the treatment group sequence. Setting: Two oncology clinics in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Main outcome measures: VAS nausea score, frequency of vomiting and HRQoL profile (EORTC QLQ-C30 scores). Results: Sixty female patients completed the study (age = 47.3 ± 9.26 years; Malay = 98.3%; on highly emetogenic chemotherapy = 86.7%). The VAS nausea score was significantly lower after ginger essential oil inhalation compared to placebo during acute phase (P = 0.040) but not sustained for overall treatment effect (treatment effect: F = 1.82, P = 0.183; time effect: F = 43.98, P < 0.001; treatment × time effect: F = 2.04; P = 0.102). Similarly, there was no significant effect of aromatherapy on vomiting [F(1, 58) = 0.29, P = 0.594]. However, a statistically significant change from baseline for global health status (P < 0.001) was detected after ginger essential oil inhalation. A clinically relevant 10 points improvement on role functioning (P = 0.002) and appetite loss (P < 0.001) were also documented while patients were on ginger essential oil.