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Chinese herbal medicines for unexplained recurrent miscarriage
Lu Li1, Lixia Dou, Ping Chung Leung
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Terrorities, Hong Kong.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|January 14, 2016
Summary
Chinese herbal medicines combined with Western medicine may improve pregnancy outcomes for recurrent miscarriage. However, more high-quality research is needed to confirm effectiveness and safety due to limited evidence and poor study quality.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Medicine
- Integrative Medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Recurrent miscarriage affects 1-3% of reproductive-aged women, often before 10 weeks gestation.
- Unexplained recurrent miscarriage lacks universally accepted treatments.
- Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are increasingly used as an alternative for improving pregnancy outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness and safety of CHMs for unexplained recurrent miscarriage.
- To evaluate CHMs alone or in combination with other treatments.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs.
- Searched multiple databases including Cochrane, Embase, CINAHL, and Chinese databases (1978-2015).
- Included trials comparing CHMs with placebo, no treatment, or other pharmaceuticals.
Main Results:
- Nine RCTs (861 women) were included; overall study quality was poor with unclear risk of bias.
- CHMs alone showed no difference in live birth rate compared to other pharmaceuticals.
- Combination of CHMs and other pharmaceuticals showed higher continuing pregnancy and live birth rates than pharmaceuticals alone.
Conclusions:
- Limited evidence suggests CHM combination therapy may improve pregnancy and live birth rates.
- No data were available on safety or secondary outcomes.
- More high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm efficacy and safety, addressing methodological limitations.
