Non-pharmacological interventions involving traditional Chinese medicine for assisted reproductive technology: A group consensus

Abstract

Background

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are being increasingly utilized for mitigating fertility problems. Nonpharmacological interventions of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are widely used as an adjunct to ART, which may improve the rate of pregnancy. Currently, no standard treatment guidelines or consensus are available for non-pharmacological interventions of TCM for patients undergoing ART. The aim of this study was to establish a consensus on the use of non-pharmacological TCM interventions during the ART treatment cycle.

Methods

This study utilized existing data and developed a consensus among a panel of experts on non-pharmacological interventions of TCM for ART. Through face-to-face or online contact, the listed recommendations were revised one by one, and a consensus was reached when >70 % of the experts agreed with the recommendation. The writing group of the expert panel then created the first draft of the expert consensus based on the discussion in the first round. The second round was held to reach a consensus on content improvements based on the opinions of the experts in the previous round.

Results

After the literature search, a total of 873 related articles were retrieved, and 59 studies were ultimately included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After two rounds of the survey, a total of 24 experts from 18 Chinese provinces across China and five international experts from the United Kingdom, Korea, and Serbia provided vital insight and support for the formulation of this consensus. The consensus outlines eight non-pharmacological interventions for seven different stages of the ART cycle and three major complications during ART, involving 23 items of clinical practice recommendations.

Conclusions

Expert consensus provides a foundation for integrating non-pharmacological TCM interventions into clinical practice during ART. As more high-quality, large-scale, multicenter clinical trials are conducted, these recommendations may be refined and updated to better inform clinical guidelines and improve patient outcomes in ART.