A recent outbreak of a drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection suggests aromatherapy can pose a high risk to patient safety, according to an article on the Contagion Live website.

Diffusers may put patients at risk for waterborne infections. The quickly spreading use of aromatherapy in healthcare settings means that there may not have processes in place to ensure patient safety.

In addition, an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at the University Hospital of Innsbruck pointed to aromatherapy because all seven patients involved received care oil, which had been directly applied by nurses. 

Further investigation suggested that the patients likely contaminated the environment (ie, washbasins, etc) rather than the oil, and that the oil was contaminated directly by a patient via a healthcare worker or the discharge of the basin water contaminated the area where the oil was stored.

Read the article.