EFFECTS OF AROMATHERAPY COMBINED MODALITY INTERVENTIONS ON THE SIDE EFFECTS IN CHEMOTHERAPY PATIENTS: A NARRATIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy treatment is both physically and mentally draining for cancer patients and it has significant side effects. However, the management of chemotherapy side effects needs improvement. Several researches have been done on the use of aromatherapy combined modality intervention (ACMI) in cancer management but its effectiveness in managing chemotherapy side effects in cancer patients is not widely studied. Aims: This review aimed to examine ACMI’s effects on chemotherapy-induced nausea vomiting (CINV), fatigue and quality of life in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and assess if the addition of aromatherapy can boost the therapeutic effect of mind-body therapies. Method: Eight electronic databases were searched to identify eligible studies from the point of inception until January 2019. All included studies’ methodological quality was appraised using Cochrane’s Risk of Bias tool. Meta-analysis could not be conducted due to insufficient studies. Instead, narrative synthesis was carried out. Results: There were 666 non-duplicated articles that have been identified and screened for eligibility. Of which, seven studies (17 arms) with a total of 632 participants were included. Three out of seven studies had low risk of bias. The findings from this review were inconclusive for ACMI’s effects on CINV, fatigue and QOL as the statistical significance of each outcome differed. Conclusion: There was a lack of available studies evaluating ACMIs for cancer patients with chemotherapy. Thus, the existing evidence was not strong enough to substantiate any claims of its effectiveness. Therefore, more rigorous studies are required to generate more data regarding the effectiveness of ACMIs. Implications: The findings from this review might be inconclusive but ACMI is still recommended because of its benefits reported by cancer patients. It is also recommended to conduct more research in this subject field for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.