D.I. Villahermosa, L.G. Santos, M.B. Nogueira, and others. 2013. “Influence of acupuncture on the outcomes of in vitro fertilisation when embryo implantation has failed: a prospective randomised controlled clinical trial.” Acupuncture in Medicine 31(2): 157-61.
Eighty-four female infertility patients who had experienced embryo implantation failure – defined here as at least two unsuccessful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts – participated in this Brazilian trial. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: IVF with moxibustion and acupuncture, IVF with sham acupuncture, and IVF alone. Treatment in the test and sham groups was administered on four days: the first and seventh day of ovulation induction, the day prior to ovarian puncture, and the day after embryo transfer. Pregnancy was evaluated both chemically, based on human chorionic gonadotropin level at twelve days after embryo transfer, and clinically, as indicated by transvaginal ultrasound at the fourth or fifth week after transfer. The pregnancy rates, both chemically and clinically, were significantly greater in the test group, with ten of the 28 participants in the group achieving clinical pregnancy (vs. three in sham, two in control). Results indicated additionally that women in the test group had a significantly greater number of oocytes retrieved and significantly greater endometrial thickness than did participants in the other two groups.
No comments yet.