The effects of acupuncture on rates of clinical pregnancy among women undergoing in vitro fertilization: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Manheimer, E. ., van der Windt, D., Cheng, K., Stafford, K., Liu, J. ., Tierney, J., Lao, L. ., Berman, B. ., Langenberg, P., & Bouter, L. · Human Reproduction Update · 2013 June 27

DOI 10.1093/humupd/dmt026

Objective

To quantify the overall pooled effects of adjuvant acupuncture on IVF clinical pregnancy success rates, and evaluate whether study design-, treatment- and population-related factors influence effect estimates.

Conclusions

In this study, only the baseline pregnancy rate variable showed a statistically significant subgroup effect and appeared to explain most of the heterogeneity in the results for the primary outcome measure (clinical pregnancy). No statistically significant pooled benefits of one to three sessions of acupuncture adjuvant to IVF, across all trials was found.

Critical Appraisal

Published research can offer valuable insights, but a paper’s conclusions may go beyond what its results support. Critical appraisal examines the methods, findings and limitations to clarify what can reasonably be concluded—and what remains uncertain.

This article has not yet been critically appraised by the Research Hub.

Learn more about Critical Appraisal

Insights

The meta-analysis indicates that while adjuvant acupuncture does not show a pooled benefit for in vitro fertilization (IVF) across all trials, it appears to have a more significant effect in trials with lower baseline pregnancy rates, warranting further investigation and confirmation in additional studies.

This passage presents a meta-analysis that aimed to assess the overall pooled effects of adjuvant acupuncture on in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinical pregnancy success rates, as well as identify factors that might explain the heterogeneity of results across trials. The analysis included 16 trials with 4021 participants and found no statistically significant difference between acupuncture and control groups when combining all trials or analyzing sham-controlled and no adjuvant treatment-controlled trials separately. However, the study identified baseline pregnancy rate as a significant effect modifier, with trials having lower control group pregnancy rates showing larger effects of adjuvant acupuncture. Overall, the meta-analysis did not find a pooled benefit of adjuvant acupuncture for IVF, but the potential benefit in trials with lower baseline pregnancy rates requires further exploration and confirmation in additional studies due to potential confounders and publication bias.