Effects of Orange Oil Aromatherapy on Pain and Anxiety During Invasive Interventions in Patients With Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants.

Invasive interventions, such as peripheral intravenous cannula, port needle placement, and blood collection, are often required for both inpatient and outpatient follow-up patients with hematological malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell transplants. This prospective, randomized controlled experimental study assessed the effect of orange oil inhalation used in aromatherapy on pain and anxiety levels in invasive interventions with hematological malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell transplants. It was conducted prospectively with 80 patients with hematological malignancies who were treated in the adult bone marrow transplant unit and adult hematology service of a private hospital between May 2021 and April 2022. The orange oil inhalation used in aromatherapy was applied to patients in the intervention group. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used for data collection. Regarding the personal characteristics of the patients, 42.5% were ≥61 years old, 60% were men, and 85% were married. VAS pain scores of the intervention group were statistically lower than those of the control group (P < .001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the STAI scores of groups (P >.05). The study results show that orange oil inhalation has been determined to reduce pain during invasive interventions.

Palliative Care in Patients with Hematological Malignancies.

Palliative care is an attempt to improve the quality of life of patients and their relatives who have lost the chance of a cure. Interventions to improve the quality of life of patients include physical, mental, and psychosocial problems. It is known that symptoms such as pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, and feeling unwell, which often cause deterioration in quality of life, are improved with palliative care support. It is seen that palliative care support, which is mostly recommended in the end-of-life period of patients with solid tumors, is not recommended for patients with hematological malignancies. In fact, patients with hematological malignancies face physical, mental, and economic difficulties due to the intense treatment protocols required for their disease and the side effects of the treatments. Compared to patients with solid tumors, patients with hematological malignancies have a higher frequency of hospitalization and intensive care unit admission. For these reasons, our aim is to define the palliative care needs of patients with hematologic malignancies, understand the barriers to palliative care and end-of-life care, and offer solutions to improve the quality of life and care of patients with hematologic malignancies.