Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2005; 10: 05–6
To assess the effect of acupuncture-type interventions (acupoint-moxibustion, acupuncture and electro-acupuncture) to resolve breech presentation compared to expectative policy.
Studies between 1980 and April 2005 were identified by searching databases of Medline, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Midirs. Studies were included if an acupuncture-type intervention of acupoint Bl 67 was compared with expectative policy and when the following criteria were described: confirmation of presentation with ultrasound and one of the following measures: position of child after treatment, position of child at delivery and treatment time. Three independent reviewers extracted outcome data. Data were pooled using random-effects models and results between the intervention group and the expectative-policy group were compared using the χ2-test and t-test (α = 0.05, two-sided).
Eight studies, five RCTs and three cohort studies with a control group, were included; there were 703 patients in the intervention group and 798 patients in the control group. Among the interventions, moxibustion was most commonly used treatment (five of the eight studies). In the RCTs, the proportion of breech presentations following treatment was 28% (95% CI 19–38%) vs. 67% (95% CI 53–80%) in the expectative-policy group. In the cohort studies plus controls these proportions were 15% (95% CI 1–28%) vs. 36% (95% CI 14–58%), respectively.
Our meta-analysis shows a positive effect of using acupuncture-type interventions on Bl 67 to induce correction of a breech position compared to expectative policy.
The Dutch Association for Acupuncture financially supported this study.
