Acupuncture as Treatment for Female Infertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Table 2

Results of the meta-analysis comparison between true acupuncture and control groups.

Outcomes of interest	Studies, no.	True Acu patients, no.	Control patients, no.	WMD/OR (95% CI)	value	Study heterogeneity
						χ^2	df	I^2, (%)	value
Primary outcomes
Live birth rate	15	3014	2696	1.34 (1.07–1.67)	0.01	48.72	16	67	<0.0001
Biochemical pregnancy rate	13	2215	1783	1.42 (1.05–1.91)	0.02	48.83	13	0	<0.0001
Clinical pregnancy rate	25	3945	3279	1.43 (1.21–1.69)	<0.0001	63.25	27	57	<0.0001
Ongoing pregnancy rate	9	1215	1062	1.25 (0.88–1.79)	0.21	23.89	8	67	0.002
Secondary outcomes
Implantation rate	11	4029	3070	1.19 (1.07–1.33)	0.002	32.45	11	66	0.0006
Oocytes retrieved	13	1666	1633	0.12 (-0.30–0.53)	0.58	22.29	7	0	0.83
Good-quality embryo rate	1	314	321	0.82 (0.59–1.15)	0.26	—	—	—	—
Miscarriages	10	917	648	1.09 (0.84–1.41)	0.5	9.15	9	2	0.42
Adverse events	4	1099	1105	1.65 (1.15–2.36)	0.006	9.65	3	69	0.02
Ectopic pregnancy rate	3	411	330	1.77 (0.53–5.93)	0.36	0.53	2	0	0.77