Altern Ther Health Med. 2022 Jul;28(5):12-19.
Lavender has been proposed as an analgesic agent for different types of headaches in complementary and alternative medicine. However, no documented trial has been performed to investigate the effects of lavender in managing post-dural puncture headache (PDPH).
To evaluate the effects of aromatherapy using lavender essential oil in reducing the severity of PDPH.
Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with parallel group design.
Post-operative wards of Kamkar-Arab-Nia and Nekooei Hedayati Hospitals in Qom, Iran.
Patients with PDPH caused by spinal anesthesia (n = 50).
Patients received 15-minute inhalations of either lavender oil or liquid paraffin as placebo, using the same protocol.
The severity of headache was scored before (baseline) and five times after the intervention (immediately, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after) using the visual analog scale. Also, dosage and frequency of the received Diclofenac and adverse effects of the intervention were recorded.
Both groups showed a reduction in headache scores post intervention. However, the headache scores between the groups was significantly different only immediately after the intervention in favor of lavender oil (difference: 1.60 ± 0.63, P = .015). Furthermore, it was observed that the mean changes of the headache scores compared to baseline were significant at each time interval in favor of the placebo group (P < .05), except immediately after the intervention. No significant difference was observed in diclofenac intake between groups (P = .440). Also, no adverse effects were found from the intervention.
Aromatherapy with lavender oil was observed to reduce the severity of PDPH only immediately after the intervention, while only minimal effects were observed at successive time intervals. However, it is noted that the study was likely underpowered and further studies are recommended to better understand the effects of lavender oil on PDPH and compare its effects to other herbal products or pharmacological agents commonly used for managing headaches.
薰衣草已被提议作为补充和替代医学中治疗各种头痛的镇痛剂。然而，目前尚无文献记载的试验来研究薰衣草在治疗硬膜穿刺后头痛（PDPH）中的作用。
评估薰衣草精油芳香疗法对减轻 PDPH 严重程度的效果。
随机、安慰剂对照的临床试验，采用平行分组设计。
伊朗库姆的 Kamkar-Arab-Nia 和 Nekooei Hedayati 医院的术后病房。
50 例因脊髓麻醉引起 PDPH 的患者。
患者使用相同方案接受 15 分钟薰衣草油或液体石蜡的吸入治疗（安慰剂）。
使用视觉模拟量表在干预前（基线）和干预后五次（立即、30、60、90 和 120 分钟后）评估头痛严重程度。还记录了接受的双氯芬酸的剂量和频率以及干预的不良反应。
两组患者在干预后头痛评分均有所下降。然而，仅在干预后立即，两组之间的头痛评分差异具有统计学意义，薰衣草油组的评分较低（差异：1.60 ± 0.63，P =.015）。此外，与基线相比，在每个时间间隔，安慰剂组头痛评分的平均变化均有统计学意义（P <.05），除了干预后立即。两组之间的双氯芬酸摄入量无显著差异（P =.440）。此外，干预过程中未发现不良反应。
仅在干预后立即观察到薰衣草油芳香疗法可降低 PDPH 的严重程度，而在随后的时间间隔仅观察到最小的效果。然而，值得注意的是，该研究可能没有足够的效力，建议进行进一步的研究以更好地了解薰衣草油对 PDPH 的影响，并将其与其他常用于治疗头痛的草药产品或药物制剂的效果进行比较。
