Abstract: 

Background and Objective: Acupuncture is widely used in clinical treatment for many years, and more and more popularity in the West as a form of pain relief, vomiting control, etc. Acupuncture compared with conscious sedation during oocyte retrieval (OR) has been studied in various centres internationally, but there are currently no local hospitals engaging the use of acupuncture for in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. We conducted a randomized control trial to evaluate the effect of acupuncture for OR during IVF. 

Method: 50 women undergoing IVF were randomised to 2 groups, with 25 women in each group. Prior to OR, the women in the acupuncture group (group A) received electro-acupuncture for 20 minutes, while those in sedation group (groups B) underwent routine conscious sedation. 

The outcomes assessed included pain scores, stress levels, and satisfaction using a self-reported questionnaire during OR and 1 hour after OR. Pain scores were evaluated using the visual analog scale. Stress levels was measured using a numerical scale from 0 to 10. Data was analysed using Graphpad. Unpaired t test was used to calculate significance between the pain scores and stress levels between the 2 groups. Fischers exact test was used to compare satisfaction and pregnancy rates in this study. 

Results: The median age was 34.2 years (18-39), with an average BMI of 24 (18-39). Acupuncture group women has the same function for the pain relieve as conscious sedation group during and post OR, there was no statistically significant difference in pain scores between both groups, Pregnancy rate was higher in the acupuncture group (65%) compared to the sedation group (40%). Vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, SpO2 and respiration were also similar in both groups. All patients in the acupuncture group were diagnosed as with kidney difficiency condition, with 1/3 women plus liver yin deficiency. 

Conclusions: This preliminary study found that Acupuncture can be as a safe and equally 

effective alternative to conscious sedation. And the patients who received electro-acupuncture had higher pregnancy rates compared with sedation treatment. 

Key wards: Electro-Acupuncture, Pain, Sedation, Oocyte Retrieval, IVF.