Effects of inhalation aromatherapy as a complementary therapy in pediatric patients in the clinical practice: A systematic review

Background: Inhalation aromatherapy is a complementary therapy in different clinical settings, but there is little evidence about its effectiveness in childcare.Objective: To assess the effectiveness of inhalational aromatherapy in the care of hospitalized pediatric patients.Methods: Systematic review of clinical trials and quasi-experimental studies, based on PRISMA recommendations, searching Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, LILACS, CINAHL, Science Direct, EBSCO, and updated databases. The Down and Black 2020, RoB 2020 CLARITY, and ROBINS-I 2020 scales were used through the Distiller SR software to verify the studies' internal validity and risk of bias.Results: From 446 articles identified, 9 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Seven were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), one pilot RCT, and one non-randomized quasi-experimental trial. Different outcomes were analyzed, with pain being the most frequently measured variable. None of the 6 studies that evaluated pain showed significant effects with inhalation aromatherapy. Additionally, non-significant effects were found regarding nausea, vomiting, and behavioral/emotional variables.Conclusions: The findings are still inconclusive, and more evidence is required from future studies with high methodological quality, blinding, and adequate sample sizes.