Traditional Korean medicine for female infertility: A review of results from infertility support programs in Korea

Introduction: Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) has a long history in the treatment of infertility. Many infertile couples are choosing TKM as a primary or adjuvant therapeutic tool to treat infertility in Korea. The purpose of this review was to summarize and evaluate the results on effectiveness and safety from literature published on traditional Korean medicine (TKM) infertility support programs with regards to spontaneous pregnancy rates (SPR) in infertile women in Korea. Methods: Pertinent studies and reports conducted from 2009 to 2015 were collected from the Association of Korean Medicine. The primary outcome was live birth rate (LBR); the secondary outcomes were clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR), adverse events (AEs). Results: Seven prospective studies (324 participants) were identified. We found that the total LBR (three studies, n = 90) was 21.1%, OPR (five studies, n = 236) was 18.6%, and CPR (six studies, n = 277) was 24.9% after TKM treatment for three to six months. Only one study reported mild AEs of constipation, nausea, and heartburn. Conclusions: This review suggests that TKM could be an effective option for infertile women. Further rigorously designed studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of TKM treatment in infertile women. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.