Comparison of the effects of lavender and diazepam on the anxiety level of patients before orthopedic surgery

Background: Waiting for surgery is one of the stressful environmental factors for each patient. The anxiety caused by waiting could have adverse effects on the patient treatment and recovery process. Given the complications caused by the management of anxiety through pharmaceutical methods, the application of complementary medicine is of paramount importance. This study aimed to compare the effects of lavender and diazepam on the anxiety level of the patients before orthopedic surgery.

Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on the patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, who referred to one of the teaching hospitals of Bojnord, Iran, in 2015. In total, 60 patients were selected through randomized convenience sampling and divided into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received 300 mg of lavender extract, whereas the control group orally consumed diazepam 5 mg prior to the surgery. The anxiety level of the patients was measured one night and one hour before the surgery using the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The data analysis was performed in the SPSS version 16, using the paired sample t-test, Fisher’s exact test, Chi-square test, and independent t-test.

Results: According to the results of the present study, the mean anxiety level of the intervention group varied from 9.8±6.0 to 76.2±5.5 (P<0.001) after the intervention. On the other hand, the mean anxiety level of the participants of the control group decreased from 100.0±5.5 to 80.0±5.7 (P<0.001). However, this difference was not statistically significant between the two groups.

Conclusion: As the findings indicated, similar to diazepam, the lavender can diminish the anxiety level in the patients before the orthopedic surgery. It is recommended to use the lavender before the surgeries to decrease the anxiety level since the herbal medicine is associated with less complications, compared to the diazepam.