Feasibility of acupuncture as an adjunct intervention for ovulatory disorder infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Table 2 The characteristics of included studies

Ref.	Sample size	Mean age in yr	Course of disease in yr	Intervention	Details of AT	Acupoint	Comparison	Duration	Outcomes
Su et al[17], 2022	T: 30, C: 30	T: 29.50 ± 2.50, C: 28.45 ± 2.50	NR	AT plus CC	Every other day, 5 consecutive times/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN4, RN6, Zigong, BL23, BL31, BL32, BL33, BL34, SP6	CC, 50 mg/tid, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	4 MC	1,4,5,7
Zhu and Xiang[18], 2022	T: 47, C: 51	T: 30 ± 3, C: 29 ± 3	T: 2.41 ± 1.37, C: 2.39 ± 1.42	AT plus CC	30 min, each day/until 1 wk before the next MC	RN4, Zigong, SP10, GV4, BL23, BL32, ST36, SP6, KI1, KI3, PC8	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,4,5-7
Cui et al[19], 2022	T: 28, C: 28	T: 26.53 ± 3.11, C: 26.25 ± 3.01	T: 2.09 ± 0.29, C: 2.05 ± 0.27	AT plus CC	Starting on day 4 after the end of menstruation	BL31, BL32, BL33, BL34	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 4 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	2,4-7
Li[20], 2015	T: 51, C: 51	T: 23.2 ± 0.5, C: 2.0 ± 0.6	T: 23.4 ± 0.6, C: 2.2 ± 0.9	AT	30 min, each day, for 10 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN3, RN4, RN8, ST36, Zigong, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,3
Song et al[21], 2008	T: 60, C: 60	T: 28.60 ± 3.74, C: 28.30 ± 3.67	T: 3.75 ± 1.94, C: 3.69 ± 1.83	AT	30 min, each day, for 10 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN3, RN4, RN8, Zigong, ST36, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-3
Zhang[22], 2019	T: 53, C: 53	T: 29 ± 4, C: 29 ± 4	T: 3.50 ± 0.43, C: 3.47 ± 0.41	AT plus CC	Starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation, every other day/until the next MC	BL23, GV4, RN3, RN4, ST25, ST29, SP6	CC, 50 mg/tid, for 5 d, starting on day 2-5 after the end of menstruation or day 6 of withdrawal bleeding	3 MC	1,2,4-6,8
Amina·and Yang[23], 2011	T: 66, C: 66	NR	NR	AT	30 min, each day, for 10 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN3, RN4, Zigong, ST36, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-3
Zhong and Chen[24], 2017	T: 38, C: 38	T: 30.84 ± 1.64, C: 31.02 ± 1.56	T: 7.30 ± 1.27, C: 7.23 ± 1. 31	AT plus CC	30 min, each day, for 10 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN3, RN4, RN8, SP6, Zigong, ST36, LR3, KI3	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	2 MC	4-6,8
Yuan[25], 2022	T: 36, C: 36	T: 27.19 ± 2.58, C: 27.67 ± 2.74	T: 3.33 ± 1.88, C: 3.19 ± 1.26	AT	30 min, 6 times per week /starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN4, RN5, BL20, BL23, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,2,4-9
Zheng[26], 2019	T: 35, C: 35	T: 30.24 ± 3.05, C: 29.25 ± 3.53	T: 27.59 ± 12.20 m, C: 27.03 ± 11.34 m	AT plus CC	30 min, every other day/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	ST25, ST36, RN3, RN4, RN5, SP6, K13, BL20, BL23, LR03	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-3,9
Zhu[27], 2017	T: 30, C: 30	T: 32.17 ± 3.23, C: 33.07 ± 3.13	T: 5.23 ± 3.21, C: 5.73 ± 2.10	AT plus CC	30 min, each day/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	ST25, ST28, ST36, SP6, RN7, RN9	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 3 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,8,9
Su[28], 2016	T: 33, C: 33	T: 31.00 ± 4.57, C: 29.83 ± 4.99	NR	AT	20-30 min, once every 3 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN10, RN12, RN4, RN5, ST28, Zigong	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-6,8,9
Liu[29], 2018	T: 26, C: 26	T: 32.1 ± 5.5,C: 31.5 ± 5.8	T: 3.4 ± 1.1, C: 3.2 ± 1.2	AT plus CC	30 min, each day, for 7 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN8, Zigong, RN4, RN3, SP6, ST36	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,3
Wang[30], 2014	T: 50, C: 50	T: 28.70 ± 3.75, C: 28.40 ± 3.68	T: 3.76 ± 1.95, C: 3.70 ± 1.85	AT	30 min, each day, for 10 d/starting on day 6 after the end of menstruation	RN4, RN8, SP6, Zigong, RN3	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 6 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-3
Danniyaer[31], 2023	T: 32, C: 32	T: 33.93 ± 3.59, C: 34.14 ± 3.51	T: 3.44 ± 1.12, C: 3.25 ± 1.17	AT plus CC	Starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN4, RN3, Zigong, ST36	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,2
Zhai[32], 2016	T: 30, C: 30	T: 28.26 ± 3.96, C: 28.45 ± 3.87	T: 3.37 ± 1.36, C: 3.52 ± 1.57	AT plus CC	20 min, each day, for 5 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	LI4, SP9, ST36, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-3,8,9
Wei et al[33], 2010	T: 93, C: 86	T: 33.0 ± 2.4, C: 31.0 ± 3.8	T: 7.0 ± 1.5, C: 7.0 ± 1.1	AT plus CC	40 min, every other day/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN4, Zigong, SP10, SP6, KI3, ST36, LI4, LR3	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,2,4-6,8,9
Zhou[34], 2019	T: 32, C: 32	T: 26.97 ± 3.85, C: 27.50 ± 2.58	T: 2.00 ± 1.58, C: 1.37 ± 0.81	AT plus CC	30 min, 3 times per week/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN4, RN3, Zigong, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1,3,8,9
Zheng et al[35], 2007	T: 40, C: 40	T: 27.6 ± 7.6, C: 28.1 ± 7.4	T: 3.7 ± 4.1, C: 3.8 ± 4.1	AT	30 min, starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	RN8, RN3, RN4, Zigong, ST36, SP6	CC, 50 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on 5 after the end of menstruation	3 MC	1-3
Zhou et al[36], 2018	T: 30, C: 30	T: 29.3, C: 29.3	NR	AT	Each day, for 10 d/starting on day 5 after the end of menstruation	SP6, K17, BL23	CC, 50-100 mg/qd, for 5 d, starting on 5 after the end of menstruation	1 MC	1,3,8

¹Pregnancy rate; ²Ovulation rate; ³Miscarriage rate; ⁴Follicle-stimulating hormone; ⁵Luteinizing hormone; ⁶Estradiol; ⁷Progesterone; ⁸Thickness of endometrium; ⁹Adverse events. AT: Acupuncture; C: Control group; m: month; CC: Clomiphene citrate; MC: Menstrual cycles; NR: Not reported; T: Treatment group.