The effects of Chinese herbal medicine on the pregnancy outcomes of infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The effects of Chinese herbal medicine on the pregnancy outcomes of infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: a systematic review and meta-analysis Chang Liu1 , Minchen Dai2 , Lei Zhao1, *, Fangfang Wang3, * 1 The Second Department of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 310053 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 2Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310006 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310006 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China *Correspondence: drwangfangfang@zju.edu.cn (Fangfang Wang); zhaolei2351@126.com (Lei Zhao) DOI:10.31083/j.ceog4805166 This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Submitted: 22 June 2021 Revised: 12 August 2021 Accepted: 26 August 2021 Published: 15 October 2021 Background: At present, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has already been widely used as an important adjuvant treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients undergoing in vitro fertilizationembryo transfer (IVF-ET). This systematic review and meta-analysis were designed to evaluate the effects of CHM on the pregnancy outcomes of infertile women with PCOS undergoing IVF-ET.Methods: We searched seven electronic databases systematically for published articles to January 2021. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CHM with blank or placebo for infertile PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET were included. The measures of treatment effect were the pooled odds ratios (OR) of the clinical pregnancy rate, the abortion rate and the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) incidence. Results: This meta-analysis included 10 studies involving 663 patients comparing CHM with blank or placebo for infertile PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET. The pooled data showed that CHM could improve the clinical pregnancy rate (OR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.73–3.35, p < 0.01) and reduce the OHSS incidence (OR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.18–0.55, p < 0.01) of infertile PCOS patients with IVF-ET treatment. No significant difference in the abortion rate was found between the CHM and control groups (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.23–1.81, p = 0.40). Discussion: CHM can be used as an auxiliary treatment for infertile PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET. Keywords In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer; Chinese herbal medicine; Polycystic ovary syndrome