Long-term effects of traditional Chinese medicine and hypnotherapy in patients with severe endometriosis--a retrospective evaluation

Forsch Komplementmed. 2010;17(6):314-20. doi: 10.1159/000322890. Epub 2010 Dec 9.

Abstract

Background: 15% of patients with severe endometriosis suffer from pain symptoms in spite of pharmacological and surgical treatments. In this retrospective study we aimed to assess the effectiveness of a combined therapy of Traditional Chinese medicine and hypnotherapy (systemic autoregulation therapy, SART) as a novel treatment for endometriosis-associated symptoms.

Patients and methods: 47 patients with severe endometriosis, which were treated with SART, were followed-up by standardized telephone interviews. Follow-up data were compared to baseline assessments.

Results: median follow-up time was 5 years. The median intensity of endometriosis-associated pain had decreased from 8 to 3 points on a 0-10 point visual analogue scale (p < 0.001). 18 patients (38%) were free of pain, and the number of patients using pain medication had decreased from 38 to 19 (from 81% to 40%). 17 out of the 31 women trying for a pregnancy (55%) showed a total of 21 births at follow-up. Exploratory analyses revealed that larger decreases in pain scores correlated significantly with longer treatment durations, suggesting a dose-response relationship.

Conclusion: treatment of endometriosis with a holistic approach of Chinese medicine and hypnotherapy may result in a substantial reduction of pain as well as increased birth rates in patients with therapy-refractory endometriosis. Randomized controlled studies to further investigate the effectiveness of SART are highly warranted.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Endometriosis / complications
  • Endometriosis / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypnosis*
  • Medicine, Chinese Traditional*
  • Middle Aged
  • Pain Measurement
  • Pelvic Pain / etiology
  • Pelvic Pain / therapy
  • Pregnancy
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Time
  • Treatment Outcome