Effects of Music Therapy and Inhalation Aromatherapy on Pain Intensity, Anxiety, and Fear Levels in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: a Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of music therapy, inhalation aromatherapy, and their combination on pain intensity, anxiety, and fear in patients undergoing coronary angiography. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial included 128 patients assigned to four groups: control, music therapy, aromatherapy, and combined music + aromatherapy. Interventions were applied 5‐10 min before the procedure and continued during angiography. Visual analog scales for assessing pain (VAS‐P), anxiety (VAS‐A), and fear (VAS‐F), and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) were assessed pre‐ and postprocedure. Data were analyzed using mixed‐design ANOVA to examine time, group, and time × group effects, and effect sizes (η 2) were calculated. RESULTS: Significant time × group interactions were found for pain (η 2 = 0.205), fear (η 2 = 0.527), anxiety (η 2 = 0.550), and state anxiety (η 2 = 0.546) (all p < 0.001). All intervention groups showed greater reductions in pain, anxiety, and fear compared with the control group (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed among the three intervention groups (p > 0.05), although the combined intervention yielded the largest improvements. CONCLUSION: Music therapy and inhalation aromatherapy reduce pain, anxiety, and fear in patients undergoing coronary angiography effectively and can be recommended as nonpharmacological nursing interventions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov.: NCT05622383.