Page 330 - 2025中醫藥與天然藥物聯合學術研討會-中醫藥與天然藥物的挑戰Ｘ機遇與未來大會手冊

TC-15

Efficacy of moxibustion at BL67 in breech presentation: a prospective

single-arm study

Shih-Huai Hsueh, #,1 Shan-Yu Su* ,1,2

1 Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
2 School of Post-baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China
Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
* E-mail: shanyusu@gmail.com

Abstract
Breech presentation is associated with delivery complications and higher cesarean rates.
Spontaneous cephalic version after 30 weeks occurs in only 34–58.5% of cases. In studies, for
fetuses diagnosed as breech at 30–33 weeks, the spontaneous cephalic version rate after 34
weeks is only about 46.3%. Moxibustion, a traditional Chinese medicine technique stimulating
BL67 (Zhiyin) with heat from burning Artemisia spp., has been proposed as a safe, non-invasive
method to facilitate cephalic version. A prospective single-arm study was conducted including
pregnant women at 30–34 weeks’ gestation with breech presentation. Participants were
instructed to perform bilateral BL67 moxibustion twice daily. The primary outcome was
cephalic presentation, compared with a benchmark spontaneous version rate of 46.3% using a
one-sample binomial test. Thirty-three women completed follow-up. Cephalic presentation
occurred in 23/33 (69.7%; 95% CI: 52.7–82.6%), significantly higher than the benchmark (p =
0.008). Rates were 66.7% in primiparous women, 75.0% multiparous women, and highest
(91.7%) among those treated at 32–33 weeks. A 2023 Cochrane review suggested moxibustion
plus usual care probably reduces non-cephalic births, though protocol heterogeneity limits
certainty. Few moxibustion studies have considered differences between primiparous and
multiparous women. Our findings are aligned with prior evidence suggesting a possible
therapeutic role of moxibustion and may help to clarify its potential scope and extent of benefit.
Moxibustion at BL67 between 30–34 weeks was associated with a significantly higher cephalic
version rate. Larger randomized trials are warranted to confirm efficacy and safety.

Keywords: Breech presentation; Moxibustion; Artemisia spp.; BL67