Table 1.
Main characteristics of included RCTs.
| Study | Study design | Patient population | Treatment group | Control group | Outcome measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yang et al. [16] | Parallel 2-arm | 296 participants | Moxibustion at bilateral BL67; twice daily, 30 min each time, 15 min each side; 7 d course (n = 147) | Knee-chest therapy; twice daily, 15 min each time (n = 149) | NCPCT |
|
| |||||
| Cardini and Weixin [17] | Parallel 2-arm | 260 participants | Moxibustion at bilateral BL67; first 87 subjects once daily for 1 week, next 43 women twice daily for 7 d; 30 min each time, 15 min each side (n = 130) | Observation; once or twice daily for 30 min each time, 15 min each side (n = 130) | (i) NCPDE (ii) NCPCT (iii) CS (iv) UO (v) AS (vi) PD (vii) PRM (viii) IFD |
|
| |||||
| Cardini et al. [18] | Parallel 2-arm | 123 participants | Moxibustion at bilateral BL67; twice daily, 30 min each time, 15 min each side for 1 or 2 wk (n = 65) | Observation (n = 58) | (i) NCPCT (ii) PRM (iii) PA |
|
| |||||
| Do et al. [19] | Parallel 2-arm | 20 participants | Moxibustion at bilateral BL67; twice daily, 20 min each time, 10 min each side for 10 d (n = 10) | Usual antenatal care for 10 d (n = 10) | (i) NCPDE (ii) CS (iii) AS (iv) PD (v) PRM |
|
| |||||
| Guittier et al. [20] | Parallel 2-arm | 212 participants | Moxibustion at bilateral BL67; three times weekly; 20 min each time, 10 min each side for 2 wk (n = 106) | Expectant management care (n = 106) | (i) NCPDE (ii) CS (iii) AS (iv) CBPH |
|
| |||||
| Vas et al. [21] | Parallel 3-arm | 270 participants | Moxibustion at BL67; 20 min each time, 2 wk (n = 136) | Knee-chest therapy; 20 min each time, 2 wk (n = 134) | (i) NCPDE (ii) CS (iii) PD |
|
| |||||
| Yang [22] | Parallel 2-arm | 206 participants | Moxibustion at bilateral BL67 + knee-chest therapy; 15–20 min, twice daily, 7 d course for 1 wk (n = 103) | Knee-chest therapy, 15–20 min each time, twice daily, 7 d course for 1 wk (n = 103) | NCPCT |
d: day, wk: week, NCPDE: number of cephalic presentations at delivery (excluding external cephalic version), NCPCT: number of cephalic presentations after cessation of treatment, CS: cesarean section, UO: use of oxytocin, AS: Apgar scores <7 at 5 min, PD: preterm delivery, PA: placental abruption, PRM: premature rupture of membranes, IFD: intrauterine fetal death, CBPH: cord blood pH less than 7.1.