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Jiseun Lim, MD1, *
, Jae-Hyun Kim, PhD2, 3, *, Yoo Mi Chae, MD4
, Jae-Hyun Kim, PhD2, 3, *, Yoo Mi Chae, MD4
Abstract
This study is to evaluate the effectiveness of oriental medicine-based infertility treatment and to examine the validity of the oriental medicine-based infertility treatment program through a systematic review. The literature search database included not only PubMed, DBpia, and RISS (Research Information Sharing Service) but also OASIS (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System) and Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal. Among 575 articles that searched, only three papers were randomized controlled trials and could be included for the evaluation of the effects of oriental medicine-based infertility treatment. There was no study showing the effectiveness of oriental medicine-based infertility treatment alone. Among 5,165 articles that searched, only 15 studies could be included for the evaluation of the natural pregnancy rate of infertile patients. These studies reported the natural pregnancy rates from 20.3% to 41.9%. As pregnancy rates ranged from 23.8% to 27.6% after the oriental medicine-based infertility treatment supporting programs, we cannot conclude that pregnancy rates for infertile patients might increase by this project. Therefore, there is a need to reconsider whether the oriental medicine-based infertility treatment program should continue in the future.
Figures and Tables
Figure 1
Flowchart of literature selection process of studies examining the effectiveness of the oriental medicine-based infertility treatment on infertile patients.
Figure 2
Flowchart of literature selection process of studies examining the spontaneous pregnancy rate of infertile patients.
Table 2
Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network criteria for assignment of levels of grades of recommendation
Table 4
Summary of results in studies examining the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture on infertile patients
Table 5
Characteristics of included studies examining the spontaneous pregnancy rate of infertile patients
ICSI, intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IVF, in vitro fertilization.
a)Means of age and duration of infertility among a total of 126 women including 25 women who received intrauterine insemination. b)Means of age and duration of infertility among a total of 726 women, some who received treatment (n=384) and others did not receive treatment (n=342). c)Means of age and duration of infertility among 946 women enrolled in the study including women who received treatment or dropped out.
Acknowledgement
This research was funded by Korean Medical Association. The assistance of Boyeon Yun in the preparation of this manuscript is gratefully appreciated.
References
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