Table 2. The levels of state anxiety, preoperative anxiety and need-for-information at T1 and T2, and the IVF outcomes.
| Control | Sham AA | AA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Items | (n = 102) | (n = 102) | (n = 101) |
| STAI (T1) | |||
| State anxiety | 42.91 ± 9.70 | 43.12 ± 8.01 | 44.01 ± 8.93 |
| APAIS (T1) | |||
| Anesthesia related anxiety | 3.51 ± 1.42 | 3.39 ± 1.39 | 3.59 ± 1.33 |
| Surgery related anxiety | 3.99 ± 1.21 | 3.81 ± 1.36 | 4.06 ± 1.36 |
| Need-for- information | 5.32 ± 1.54 | 5.25 ± 1.12 | 5.20 ± 1.51 |
| STAI (T2) | |||
| State anxiety | 41.11 ± 9.96 | 42.29 ± 9.55 | 34.79 ± 14.01 * # |
| APAIS (T2) | |||
| Anesthesia related anxiety | 3.12 ± 1.12 | 2.91 ± 1.07 | 1.97 ± 0.81 * # |
| Surgery related anxiety | 3.87 ± 1.21 | 3.56 ± 1.52 | 2.72 ± 1.17 * # |
| Need-for- information | 5.01 ± 1.62 | 4.71 ± 1.23 * | 4.03 ± 1.76 * # |
| Clinical pregnancy rate (%) | 40/102 (39.21%) | 41/102 (40.20%) | 59/101 (58.42%) * # |
| Implantation rate (%) | 51/202 (25.25%) | 52/206 (25.24%) | 78/211 (36.97%) * # |
| Live birth rate (%) | 31/102 (30.39%) | 32/102 (31.37%) | 53/101 (52.48%) * # |
Note: Data were shown as mean ± S.D. *P<0.05, compared with the Control group; #P<0.05 compared with Sham AA group. (For Chi-Square tests among three groups, the adjusted significance level for each comparison was set at P = 0.017(0.05/3) to give a significance level of 0.05 over all three tests: *P<0.017, compared with the Control group; #P<0.017 compared with Sham AA group). AA: auricular acupressure; T1: the time-point on the morning of one day before trans-vaginal oocyte retrieval; T2: the time-point on the morning of the day of embryo transfer; STAI: state trait anxiety inventory; APAIS: Amsterdam preoperative anxiety and information scale.