Clove oil cream: a new effective treatment for chronic anal fissure

OBJECTIVE: Anal fissure is a common painful condition affecting the anal canal and causes considerable morbidity and reduction in quality of life. Surgical treatment has been associated with a degree of incontinence in up to 30% of patients. This study discussed the results of clove oil 1% cream in healing of chronic anal fissure. METHOD: A single-blind randomized comparative trial was setup to compare traditional treatment with stool softeners and lignocaine cream 5% against clove oil 1% cream for 6 weeks. RESULTS: 55 patients were included in this study, 30 patients in clove oil group and 25 patients in control group. Healing had occurred in 60% of patients in clove oil group and in 12% of patients in the control group after 3-month follow up (P < 0.001). Patients in clove oil group showed significant reduction in resting anal pressure and almost all other anorectal manometric pressures compared with patients in control group. CONCLUSION: Topical application of clove oil cream demonstrated a significant beneficial effect when applied to patients suffering from chronic anal fissure.