PEPPERMINT OIL - A TREATMENT FOR POSTOPERATIVE NAUSEA

This paper describes a research study to investigate the efficacy of p eppermint oil as a treatment for postoperative nausea, It uses a three -condition experimental design using statistical analysis to compare g roups. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to establish significance and the Mann-Whitney test to differentiate significance between the groups , The control, placebo and experimental groups of gynaecological patie nts were compared, using variables known to affect postoperative nause a, They were found to be homogeneous for the purposes of the study, A statistically significant difference was demonstrated on the day of op eration, using the Kruskal-Wallis test, P=0.0487, Using the Mann-Whitn ey test the difference was shown to be between the placebo and experim ental group (U=3; P=0.02), The experimental group also required less t raditional antiemetics and received more opioid analgesia postoperativ ely, The total cost of the treatment was 48 pence per person.