Objective

2

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of early intradermal needle therapy in preventing retained products of conception （RPOC） following induced abortion.

Methods

2

A randomized， single-blind， placebo-controlled trial design was applied. Eighty-eight patients scheduled for early induced abortion were randomly assigned to either an intradermal needle group （44 cases） or a sham control group （44 cases）. Both groups underwent ultrasound-guided vacuum aspiration under general anesthesia and received standard postoperative pharmacological care. Immediately following the operation， the intradermal needle group received active intradermal needle therapy at bilateral Sanyinjiao （SP 6）， Hegu （LI 4） and Zhiyin （BL 67）， with needles retaining for 3 days， acupoint pressing three times daily for 5 minutes per acupoint， followed by 5 minutes of walking after each pressing session； while the sham control group received a visually identical， blunt-tipped sham needle intervention. The primary outcome was endometrial thickness measured by Doppler ultrasound at week 2 post-procedure. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of RPOC， visual analog scale （VAS） score and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version （PCL-C） score at 2 hours post-procedure， volume and duration of vaginal bleeding， uterine volume， Pictorial Blood Loss Assessment Chart （PBAC） scores at weeks 5 and 12， menstrual cycle characteristics， and adverse events should be recorded.

Results

2

At week 2 post-procedure， endometrial thickness was significantly lower in the intradermal needle group compared to the sham control group （

P

＜0.05）. Transvaginal ultrasonography at postoperative week 2 showed thinner endometrium in the intradermal needle group than in the sham group （

P

＜0.05）. RPOC occurred 1 case （2.27%） in the intradermal needle group versus 9 cases （20.45%） in the sham control group， yielding a significantly higher RPOC incidence in the sham control group （

P

＜0.05）. Patients in the intradermal needle group had less postoperative vaginal bleeding volume and shorter bleeding du

ration than those in the sham control group （

P

＜0.05）. No statistically significant difference was found in 2-hour postoperative VAS pain score， uterine volume at postoperative week 2 and week 5， PBAC score at postoperative week 5 and week 12， or menstrual cycle at postoperative week 12 between groups（all

P

＞0.05）. No obvious adverse reactions were observed in either group.

Conclusion

2

Immediate intradermal needle intervention after early induced abortion can significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative RPOC， exert beneficial effects on reducing the volume and duration of postoperative vaginal bleeding as well as alleviating post-traumatic stress symptoms， with good safety.