Effect of Acupuncture on IVF Pregnancy Outcomes for Women With RIF

March 8, 2026 updated by: Cui Hong Zheng, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Effect of Acupuncture on IVF Pregnancy Outcomes for Women With Recurrent Implantation Failure: a Multi-center Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter trial is conducted in five centers in China. After screening and obtaining the signed informed consent , the participants are randomly divided into three groups: acupuncture group (Acu.+IVF），sham acupuncture group（Sham Acu. +IVF），and the control group (only IVF).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
771

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Hubei
      • Wuhan, Hubei, China, 430030
        • Recruiting
        • Tongji Hospital,Tongji medical college,HUST
        • Contact:
          • Cuihong Zheng, professor
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Minming Zhang, professor

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

25 years to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Married women aged 25-40;
  2. Repeated implantation failure for unknown reasons (experienced 2 or more embryo transfers of good-quality embryos without achieving clinical pregnancy);
  3. Transplantable Day 3 high-quality frozen embryos or frozen blastocysts (≥3BB);
  4. Estrogen and progesterone replacement therapy (HRT), endometrial thickness ≥7mm on the day of endometrial transformation.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who met any of the following conditions were not included.

  1. Those who prepare for PGD;
  2. Recipients of egg donors;
  3. Chromosomal abnormalities in both or one of the couples (excluding chromosome polymorphism);
  4. patients with implantation failure due to known embryonic factors;
  5. Uterine lesions that may affect implantation (including uterine malformation, >4cm intramural fibroids，submucosal fibroids, adenomyosis, uterine tuberculosis, intrauterine adhesions, etc.
  6. Repeated spontaneous abortion (2 or more fetal loss before 28 weeks of gestation);
  7. Patients with other endocrine diseases, such as thyroid disease, hyperprolactinemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, adrenal disease, etc., and poor control of hormone levels in the last 3 months;
  8. Clearly diagnosed autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, antiphospholipid syndrome, etc.;
  9. Hydrosalpinx untreated;
  10. BMI less than 18 or higher than 25kg/m2;
  11. People with previous history of needle sickness;
  12. Those who have previously participated in this study or received acupuncture treatment in the past 3 months.
  13. Any situation that researchers consider inappropriate for participating in this study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Acupuncture group
Acupuncture + IVF.
Device: acupuncture and IVF
Acupuncture was performed three times a week for 30 minutes each time, starting from the 5th day of menstruation before the cycle of the transfer and ending within 24 hours after embryo transfer.
Sham Comparator: Sham acupuncture group
Sham acupuncture +IVF. We formulate and follow standardised step-by-step instructions and operations to use the same rituals in the acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups as far as possible.
Device: sham acupuncture and IVF
Sham acupuncture was performed three times a week for 30 minutes each time, starting from the 5th day of menstruation before the cycle of the transfer and ending within 24 hours after embryo transfer.
Other: control group
only IVF
Other: control group
no acupuncture, only IVF

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
CPR
Time Frame: 1 year
Clinical pregnancy rate
1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
OPR
Time Frame: 1 year
ongoing pregnancy rate
1 year
LBR
Time Frame: 1 year
Live birth rate
1 year
Biochemical indexes
Time Frame: before and after acupuncture treatment
Biochemical indexes
before and after acupuncture treatment
Questionnaire score
Time Frame: before and after acupuncture treatment
Questionnaire score
before and after acupuncture treatment
β-HCG positive rate
Time Frame: 1 year
level of serum β-HCG positive rate
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Minming Zhang, professor, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 2, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 26, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 26, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 31, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2019CR110

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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