Background and Objective: surgery is a stressful experience and in open heart surgery, the patients are greatly faced with anxiety, which has been reduced by different approaches. This study aimed to investigate the effects of aromatherapy on anxiety level.

  Material and Methods: This blinded- randomized- controlled clinical trial was carried out on 90 patients divided into two groups of intervention and control. the patients of intervention group were asked to inhale two drops of lavender essential oil and those of control group two drops of distilled water poured on a gauze , for 20 minutes. In addition to measuring patients’ anxiety level by Spielberger questionnaire, we recorded their vital signs. Using SPSS 16 software, the data was described via mean, standard deviation and percent, and analyzed by using independent t-test, paired t-test, Chi Square and Covariance (0.05).

  Results: The mean age of intervention group was 50.49 ± 10.92 and control group was 50.13 ± 9.20. Anxiety score in intervention group was significantly decreased from 56.37±5.6 to 54.73±5.42 and in control group meaningfully reduced from 55.18±7.35 to 54.0±7.22 (p<0.05). The mean anxiety score in the intervention group was significantly higher than that of control group (p<0.05).

  Conclusion: Because anxiety reduction in aromatherapy group was more than control group it can be concluded that aromatherapy with lavender essential oil have significant effect in reducing anxiety and therefore can be used in clinical situations.

  Background and Objective: ­ ­Delirium is a kind of fluctuating cognitive­ destruction , disorientation and ­a common problem for inpatients, which leads to increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay, increased cost and decreased rehabilitation.­ This study evaluates the incidence of delirium and its associated risk factors in open heart surgery.

  Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted ­­in six month (2011), via convenience sampling, on 404 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery in the heart center of Fatemeh Zahra in Sari, Iran. Using Neecham questionnaire and demographic checklist, delirium was evaluated from the first till the fifth day of surgical operation. We used survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression) to­ analyze the findings, using SPSS software version18.
Results: The incidence of delirium is reported 28.5%. There is a significant relation between the incidence of delirium and variables such as age , lower education, rural, history of kidney failure, heart failure, stroke, hearing disorder, atrial fibrillation, increased serum potassium and increased serum urea.

  Conclusion: ­ According to the results, screening for d elirium is a matter of the utmost importance . With attention to individual profile and preoperative factors related to delirium, it is necessary to train elder and lower education patients, to maintain electrolyte balance before operation and to eliminate sensory deprivation in order to lessen the incidence of delirium.