A systematic review and meta‐analysis of acupuncture in <i>in vitro </i>fertilisation

El‐Toukhy, Tarek; Sunkara, SK; Khairy, Mohammed; Dyer, R. G.; Khalaf, Yakoub; Coomarasamy, Arri

doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2008.01838.x

Cited by 105 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Early research suggests that prayer [17], yoga [18], acupuncture [19], stress avoidance [20], and having a positive attitude [5], might positively impact success, though studies have not elucidated whether an effect is achieved through direct or indirect mechanism. Data exists to suggest acupuncture might improve outcomes through the mechanism of stress reduction [19], though a more substantial body of research does not support an independent relationship whereby acupuncture improves IVF outcomes [21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions among infertile couples of lifestyle behaviors and in vitro fertilization (IVF) success

Hawkins

Rossi

Correia

et al. 2014

J Assist Reprod Genet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose To assess how patients perceive various lifestyle behaviors impact IVF success. Methods Cross-sectional study of heterosexual, Englishspeaking couples (n=138) who completed web-based surveys during IVF treatment cycle. Perceived impact of lifestyle choices assessed by multivariable logistic regression and pvalue tests for linear trend (P t ). Result(s) During the IVF cycle, most patients consider it helpful for women to exercise (76 %), avoid stress (87 %) and limit activity after embryo transfer (92 %). The majority of patients (62 %) consider rigorous exercise (4+ h/week) helpful and nearly one-third (32 %) perceive benefit to complete bed rest after transfer. Overall, couples with a sexspecific infertility diagnosis are more likely to consider partner's lifestyle choices impactful: male-factor couples are more likely to consider it helpful for men to limit cellular phone use (OR:2.73,CI:1.06-7.04) and diminished ovarian reserve couples are more likely to consider it helpful for women to limit exposure to plastics (OR:2.38,CI:1.03-5.51). Patients at higher levels of education (P t <0.01) and income (P t <0.01) are less likely to consider lifestyle impactful. Conclusion(s) Patient perceptions of the impact of lifestyle factors on IVF success vary by sex, infertility diagnosis and socioeconomic factors. Despite counseling to the contrary, many patients perceive benefit to rigorous exercise during the IVF cycle and complete bedrest following transfer. Results provide insight into patient beliefs and highlight opportunities to improve patient education, alleviate patient anxieties and potentially improve IVF outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions among infertile couples of lifestyle behaviors and in vitro fertilization (IVF) success

Hawkins

Rossi

Correia

et al. 2014

J Assist Reprod Genet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In another systematic review it was suggested that the currently available literature does not provide suffi cient evidence that adjuvant acupuncture improves assisted reproduction clinical pregnancy rate. 24 Wang et al 29 performed 30 min acupuncture sessions starting on day 5 of the cycle until 2 weeks after oocyte retrieval and found no improvement in the pregnancy rate. Most of the studies reporting positive effects of acupuncture on ICSI outcomes performed the sessions immediately before embryo transfer, unlike in Wang's study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 23 A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture in IVF has demonstrated that the currently available literature does not provide sufficient evidence that adjuvant acupuncture improves assisted reproduction clinical pregnancy rate. 24 Conversely, other meta-analyses have suggested that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing IVF. 25 In another systematic review, Cheong et al 26 suggested that acupuncture performed on the day of embryo transfer has a benefi cial effect on the live birth rate; however, with the present evidence this could be attributed to placebo effect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Acupuncture on Assisted Reproduction Treatment Outcomes

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Acupuncture has recently been used as a complementary technique in the management of infertility. It has physiological and psychological effects and may be considered an alternative for stress reduction in women undergoing infertility treatments. Objective To examine the hypothesis that acupuncture treatment may increase the pregnancy rate in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. Methods Patients enrolled in the study were stratifi ed according to age and randomised to either a control group (n=208) or acupuncture group, (n=208). The pregnancy, implantation and abortion rates of the two groups were compared.Results No infl uence of acupuncture treatment on clinical outcomes was seen; however, when cycles in which the causes of infertility were exclusively tubaluterine or idiopathic were evaluated separately, a positive infl uence of acupuncture on pregnancy (OR=5.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 34.5; p=0.048) was noted. Moreover, trends toward an increase in implantation were seen when acupuncture was performed (regression coeffi cient: 0.645; p=0.092). ConclusionThe results suggest that acupuncture treatment had no infl uence when performed immediately before and immediately after embryo transfer, on clinical outcomes overall. In a subgroup analysis, when the embryo was not affected by an ovarian or seminal infl uence, a benefi t was noted.

show abstract

“…3 4 Individualised pattern diagnoses (based on signs and symptoms) and treatment according to their individual patterns are important features of acupuncture rooted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). [5][6][7][8] To ensure consistent and optimal treatment the pattern diagnoses must be reliable, but only a few studies have assessed the reliability of diagnostic data collected during a TCM examination. 9 O'Brien and Birch reviewed studies of the reliability of traditional East Asian medicine diagnoses and concluded that reliability of pattern diagnoses and treatment was low.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Inter-Rater Reliability in Traditional Chinese Medicine for Female Infertility

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Treatment of patients according to individual pattern diagnoses is an important feature of acupuncture rooted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Little is known about the reliability of TCM pattern diagnoses. Objective To examine in a cross-sectional study the inter-rater reliability of TCM diagnoses and acupuncture point selection.Methods 30 infertile and 24 previously pregnant women were examined for TCM patterns by two acupuncturists. An operational interview guide related to gynaecology was used. The acupuncturists independently decided on the TCM patterns (categorised as excess, defi ciency and merged patterns) and the prescription of acupuncture points. Kappa Statistics were used in the analyses. Results 39 different TCM patterns and 36 different acupuncture points were used. For the choice of acupuncture points, poor to no agreement was found. Moderate to fair agreement was seen in excess/defi ciency and merged patterns. Perfect match to moderate agreement on treatment was obtained when choosing meridians given certain TCM patterns. Conclusions The low agreement on diagnoses indicates that acupuncturists follow individual pattern differentiation processes. The selection of acupuncture points seem to be closely related to the choice of TCM pattern diagnoses. The results indicate that the poor reliability in the diagnoses and thus treatment received by a patient will vary individually, which in turn is a challenge for clinical trials of acupuncture. INTRODUCTION Acupuncture is commonly used as an adjunct to in vitro fertilisation (IVF).1 Although IVF and acupuncture is an active area of research, 1 2 the results of studies are diffi cult to interpret and compare because of a large variation in diagnostic criteria for patient inclusion and in the choice of acupuncture points.1 This has been emphasised as a major obstacle for systematic reviews in this area. 3 4 Individualised pattern diagnoses (based on signs and symptoms) and treatment according to their individual patterns are important features of acupuncture rooted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). [5][6][7][8] To ensure consistent and optimal treatment the pattern diagnoses must be reliable, but only a few studies have assessed the reliability of diagnostic data collected during a TCM examination. 9O'Brien and Birch reviewed studies of the reliability of traditional East Asian medicine diagnoses and concluded that reliability of pattern diagnoses and treatment was low. 10 Reliability has been studied for different patient groups using a wide range of research designs. Some studies have examined how several clinicians diagnose and suggest treatment for one or only a few patients, 11 12 whereas others have compared pairs of clinicians examining a number of patients. 13 The results of these studies show no consistent pattern. A relatively good agreement has been reported for TCM diagnoses while suggestions for acupuncture points have shown greater variation. 12 Most of the studies report percentage agreement and sometimes the...

show abstract

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of acupuncture in in vitro fertilisation

Cited by 105 publications

References 44 publications

Perceptions among infertile couples of lifestyle behaviors and in vitro fertilization (IVF) success

Perceptions among infertile couples of lifestyle behaviors and in vitro fertilization (IVF) success

Effect of Acupuncture on Assisted Reproduction Treatment Outcomes

Low Inter-Rater Reliability in Traditional Chinese Medicine for Female Infertility

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About