Chinese herbal medicine and clomiphene citrate for anovulation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objectives: The study objective was to investigate the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine for improving standard infertility treatments.

Design: A search of the literature between 2000 and 2006 was done in English and Chinese using the search terms anovulation, infertility, clomiphene citrate, Chinese herbal medicine, and randomized controlled trials. A review was done of 1009 studies with selection criteria including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Chinese herbal medicine combined with clomiphene citrate (CC) versus a control arm using CC alone with primary endpoints of changes in basal body temperatures, ovulation rates, endometrial lining, and pregnancy outcomes.