Background: Increases in vital signs are common problems in burn patients. It is useful to decrease these changes within the normal limit in cardiac patients and older adults. This study aimed to investigate the effect of inhalation aromatherapy with Damask Rose essential oil on vital signs after dressing changes in burn patients.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted with 50 patients in burn unit of Beast Teaching Hospital in Hamadan from September to October, 2013. Patients were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental or control groups. The vital signs of the patients were recorded thirty minutes before entering the dressing change room, where patients in the experimental group inhaled five drops of Damask Rose essential oil 40% as aromatherapy and patients in the control group inhaled five drops of distilled water as placebo. After changing the dressing, the vital signs were recorded 15 and 30 minutes after exiting the dressing change room. Data were analyzed in SPSS/16 using statistical tests.

Results: Although aromatherapy with Damask Rose essence significantly decreases increased pulse rates after dressing changes (p>0.05), it does not decrease systolic and diastolic blood pressure and respiratory rate.

Conclusion: Inhalation aromatherapy with Damask Rose can decrease increased pulse rates due to dressing changes, and can be used in critical situations as a safe complementary treatment.