• Jingwen Mo, Yiyi Zhang, Ni Jin, and Yi Zhou.
• College of Basic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional, Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Jul 7; 102 (27): e34310e34310.

BackgroundTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine formulas combined with acupuncture for the treatment of ovulation dysfunction infertility (ODI).MethodsFrom January 1, 2018 to March 12, 2023, 7 electronic databases, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Database, and CBM, were systematically searched to identify eligible randomized controlled trial studies.ResultsMeta analysis showed that traditional Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture can more effectively improve sex hormone levels compared to Western medicine alone, including follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in older patients (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 3.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.35-3.66; P  = .024, I 2  = 28%), FSH in younger patients (SMD: 0.45; 95% CI: -0.15, 1.05; P  = .03, I 2  = 71%), estradiol (E2) (SMD: 7.50; 95% CI: v0.47, 15.48; P  < .00001, I 2  = 99%), and progesterone (P) (SMD: 2.20; 95% CI: 2.07-2.33; P  < .00001, I 2  = 29%). Compared to Western medicine alone, traditional Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture also had a better effect to increase ovulation rate (risk ratio [RR]: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.72-3.52; P  < .00001, I 2  = 0%), pregnancy rate (RR: 2.50; 95% CI: 1.96-3.18; P  < .00001, I 2  = 0%), maximum follicle diameter (MFD) (SMD: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.37-3.16; P  < .00001, I 2  = 91%), and endometrial thickness (SMD: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.31-2.11; P  < .00001, I 2  = 87%). The combination of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture also had better effects on quality of life (RR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.15-0.23; P  < .00001, I 2  = 0%) and reduced adverse reactions (RR: 0.15; 95% CI: 0.05-0.48; P  = .001, I 2  = 0%), compared to Western medicine alone.ConclusionThis study shows evidence that traditional Chinese medicine formulas combined with acupuncture are an effective and safe treatment approach. However, this conclusion requires further confirmation due to the insufficient quality of the included trials.Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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