• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.214-226
• /
• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review clinical studies of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder (GPPPD) in women. Methods: Key words "Dyspareunia", "Vaginismus" were searched on Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI) on April 21th 2019. Results: 2 case reports and 7 clinical trials were collected in accordance with the selection and exclusion criteria. Among the 7 trials, 4 were controlled trials, and 3 were single-arm trials. The types of intervention were herb medication in 8 studies, and compound TCM treatment including acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping therapy in 1 study. All 4 controlled trials were about dyspareunia and conducted by herbal medicine of TCM. The study results and methods of intervention were analyzed. Conclusions: 2 case reports described the effectiveness of compound TCM treatments (acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping therapy) and herb medicine in dyspareunia. In 4 controlled trials, 2 trials described the effectiveness of herb medicine (oral or vaginal agent) compared to western treatment in dyspareunia, and other 2 trials described no effectiveness of herbal enema compared to danazol. In 3 single-arm trials, 1 trial of dyspareunia and 2 trials of vaginismus described the effectiveness of herb medicine. All the 9 selected studies reported improved or disappeared symptoms of GPPPD, or high effective rate after TCM treatment. There was limitation that the selected studies were retrieved from only one site of CNKI, and generalized results could not be derived, further studies should be carried out. Additional well-designed clinical studies on GPPPD in women are needed in Korea.