Systematic review and meta-analysis of traditional Chinese medicine compound in treating infertility caused by endometriosis

BACKGROUND: To perform meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound in the treatment of endometriosis (EMS)-induced infertility. METHODS: The databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CNKI), VIP, Wanfang Science and Technology Journal Full-text Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM) were used to search for articles on the treatment of EMS-induced infertility with TCM compound from database establishment to September 2021. Endnote X9 software was used to screen the articles. Stata 15.1 and RevMan 5.3 software were used to record the data, and a meta-analysis was performed on the effective rate, pregnancy rate, abortion rate, incidence of adverse reactions, luteinizing hormone (LH) level, and estradiol (E2) level of TCM compound in the treatment of EMS-induced infertility. Finally, the reliability of the results was assessed by sensitivity analysis. A funnel plot was used to evaluate the publication bias of the articles. RESULTS: A total of 11 articles were included. Meta-analysis showed that when TCM compound was used to treat EMS-induced infertility, the effective rate of the trial group was significantly higher than that in the control group [odds ratio (OR) =1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00 to 1.60; P=0.049], and the difference was statistically significant; the pregnancy rate of the trial group was significantly higher than that in the control group (OR =1.94; 95% CI: 1.50 to 2.50; P<0.05), and the difference was statistically significant; the abortion rate of the trial group was significantly lower than that in the control group (OR =0.16; 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.48; P=0.01), and the difference was statistically significant; and the incidence of adverse reactions in the trial group was not significantly different from the control group (OR =0.48; 95% CI: 0.17 to 1.34; P=0.162); the LH level of the trial and control group [standardized mean difference (SMD) =0.51; 95% CI: -1.73 to 2.75; P=0.658], and the E2 level (SMD =1.65; 95% CI: -0.77 to 4.07; P=0.182) had no statistical difference. DISCUSSION: Chinese herbal compound is effective in the treatment of endometriotic infertility and has a positive effect on improving the pregnancy rate.