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NCT Number: NCT07299474

Efficacy of Lavender Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Pain Reduction During Awake Otolaryngologic Procedures

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of lavender aromatherapy in adult patients undergoing awake otolaryngologic procedures in the outpatient clinic setting. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does lavender aromatherapy help reduce anxiety and/or pain, and improve patient comfort during awake otolaryngologic procedures in the clinic? * Do patients subjectively find aromatherapy relaxing and/or beneficial during the procedure?

Researchers will compare lavender aromatherapy to placebo (an odorless liquid) to see if lavender aromatherapy helps improve patient comfort during their awake procedure

Participants will:

* Have their scheduled procedure performed with lavender aromatherapy or placebo during the duration of the procedure * Take a short, less than 1 minute questionnaire both before and after the procedure, describing their levels of anxiety, pain and subjective impressions of the aromatherapy

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Key information

Conditions

Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) Endocrine Gland Neoplasms Endocrine System Diseases Head and Neck Neoplasms Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Nose Diseases Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases Respiratory Tract Diseases Rhinitis Rhinitis, Vasomotor Thyroid Diseases Thyroid Neoplasms Thyroid Nodule Thyroid Nodules Vocal Fold Immobility

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Otolaryngology Clinics

Los Angeles, California, 90048, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults ≥18 years old undergoing awake otolaryngologic procedures in the outpatient clinic
  • Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • Hypersensitivity to fragrances
  • Taking systemic NSAIDs or other systemic pain-relieving medications within 48 hours
  • Taking anxiolytics, hypnotics, sedating antihistamines, antidepressants on regular basis within 4 weeks
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Participation in another clinical research study within the prior 30 days

Treatment and study plan

Lavender aromatherapy

Other

Lavender essential oil on cotton ball, and in aromatherapy diffuser

Placebo Aromatherapy

Other

Saline on cotton ball and in aromatherapy diffuser

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in visual analog scale anxiety, measured on a 10 cm scale

    Time frame: Baseline, Periprocedural and Immediately after the procedure

    A 10 cm visual analog scale is widely utilized to measure procedural anxiety, rated from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest level of anxiety. The patient will provide a vertical mark above their level of anxiety. This number measured in mm (0-100) will be recorded both immediately before the procedure, and after the procedure, where the patient will record their average level of anxiety during the procedure. The change between pre-procedure, and post-procedure, will be recorded for each patient and compared between the lavender aromatherapy and placebo groups. The mean and median pre-procedure and post-procedure values will also be compared between the groups.

  2. Likert scale of pain, measured on a scale of 0-10

    Time frame: Immediately after the procedure

    Patients will be asked to rate their your average level of pain on a scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain) on a post-procedural questionnaire

  3. Likert scale subjective improvement with pain, measured on scale of 1-5

    Time frame: Immediately after the procedure

    Patients will be asked in post-procedural questionnaire if they felt the aromatherapy helped with pain during the procedure, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Subjective Impressions of Lavender Aromatherapy, measured on Likert scale and in Yes/No format in post-procedural questionnaire

    Time frame: Immediately after the procedure

    Patients will be asked in a post-procedural questionnaire their subjective impressions of the lavender aromatherapy or placebo. The questions will be outlined as below:

    Did you feel the aromatherapy was calming during the procedure?

    1 2 3 4 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree)

    Did you find the scent pleasant? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree)

    Do you use aromatherapy or essential oils regularly? Yes No

    Have you ever used aromatherapy or essential oils in the past? Yes No

    How likely are you to recommend the aromatherapy for future patients undergoing awake procedures?

    1 2 3 4 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree)

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Ankona Ghosh, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

213-300-7972

Dhruv S Kothari, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

310-560-7331

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2028
First posted
Dec 23, 2025
Registry last updated
Dec 23, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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