ABSTRACT
Background: One of the most stressful situations in clinical environments is exposure to invasive diagnostic methods, one of which is the endoscopy of the digestive tract. Endoscopy related anxiety can prevent achieving optimal results. Aromatherapy is one of complementary treatments that can reduce anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inhalation of matricaria chamomile essential oil on the anxiety before Esophagogastroduodenoscopy
Materials and Methods: This study is a randomized clinical trial that was carried out in May 2014 among patients referred to the Endoscopy Department of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad. The population of the study included 152 participants who were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Anxiety was measured by using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI] questionnaire. Then for 20 minutes, the intervention group inhaled matricaria chamomile essential oil and the control group inhaled placebo [sesame oil]. 10 minutes after inhalation, anxiety was again measured and compared between the groups. Data analysis was done using SPSS software version 21
Results: The mean age of the participants was 42.05 +/- 4.5 years and 41.33% of them were male. Mean level of anxiety after inhalation in the intervention group was 35.89 +/- 8.40 and in the control group was 39.88 +/- 8.40, which decreased in both groups but in the intervention group the decrease was significant
Conclusion: The findings showed that matricaria chamomile essential oil inhalation was effective in decreasing the anxiety of patients who were candidate for endoscopy. It is recommended to reduce anxiety in stressful situations
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Middle Aged , Anxiety/prevention & control , Aromatherapy , Chamomile , Endoscopy, Digestive System/psychologyABSTRACT
Calcification and inflammation are among the important cases of exudative age-related macular degeneration [E-ARMD]. The aim of the present study was to elucidate if there is any relationship between serum Osteoprotegerin [OPG], soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand [RANK-ligand] and E-ARMD. In a cross-sectional study, we compared 45 E-ARMD patients with 45 matched controls. Diagnosis was confirmed by fluorescein angiography. Serum samples were analyzed for OPG, RANK-ligand, low density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], total cholesterol [TC], and triglyceride [TG]. The levels of OPG and RANK-ligand were measured by ELISA methods. The mean age was 72.0 +/- 11.5 years in the E-ARMD group and 68.2 +/- 8.9 years in the control group [p=0.09]. The level of serum OPG was 132.10 +/- 75.49 pg/ml in the E-ARMD group and 94.88 +/- 61.65 pg/ml in the control subjects. E-ARMD patients had significantly high levels of OPG [p=0.012], as well as significantly high levels of LDL-C and TC [p=0.001 and p=0.005, respectively]. We could not find any significant difference in RANK-ligand, HDL-C, or TG between two study groups [p>0.05]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the levels of OPG in E-ARMD patients. The present study showed that E-ARMD patients had high levels of serum OPG. It may act as a protective factor for E-ARMD or only as a secondary phenomenon of different processes of E-ARMD. Further prospective studies would be necessary for prognostic and predictive significance of OPG in patients affected by E-ARMD