NCT04260867

Essential Oils for Electrocautery

Utility of Aromatherapy in Reducing Burnt Flesh Smell, Decreasing Intraoperative Anxiety, and Improving the Patient's Overall Experience During Cutaneous Surgical Procedures: a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 111 (actual)
• Sponsor: Northwestern University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 19 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess whether essential oil aromatherapy could improve or eliminate the smell of burnt flesh from electrocautery and subsequently mitigate patient anxiety and discomfort during dermatologic skin surgery. This is a randomized clinical trial. Approximately 210 electrocautery participants will be randomized to receive sham control/no aromatherapy or aromatherapy. Patients will be asked to complete a questionnaire after completion of the procedure to assess their experience. This study was a pilot study designed to determine the feasibility of this procedure. Subjects currently living in the Chicago metropolitan area and meet inclusion/exclusion criteria will be invited and considered for enrollment.

Conditions

• Anxiety

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Essential Oil	Those randomized to the treatment group will have containers filled with the essential oil of their choice.
OTHER	No Essential Oil	Those randomized to the control group will then be given empty single-use handheld aromatherapy containers containing no essential oil.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-12-22
• Primary completion: 2021-06-01
• Completion: 2025-12-01
• First posted: 2020-02-07
• Last updated: 2025-01-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States