Objective: To evaluate the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on pregnancy rates (PR) in women undergoing ET.
Design: Prospective, randomized, single-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Setting: Research and laboratory facilities.
Patient(s): A total of 309 patients, less than 45 years old, undergoing cryopreservation embryos transplant or fresh cycle IVF with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
Intervention(s): The subjects were randomly allocated to three groups: mock TEAS treatment: 30 minutes after ET (group I, n = 99); single TEAS treatment: 30 minutes after ET (group II, n = 110); and double TEAS treatments: 24 hours before ET and 30 minutes after ET (group III, n = 100).
Main outcome measure(s): Clinical PR, embryos implantation rate, live birth rate.
Result(s): The clinical PR, embryos implantation rate, and live birth rate of group I (29.3%, 15.0%, and 21.2%, respectively) were significantly lower than those in group II (42.7%, 25.7%, and 37.3%, respectively) and group III (50.0%, 25.9%, and 42.0%, respectively).
Conclusion(s): Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, especially double TEAS, significantly improved the clinical outcome of ET.
Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.