呼出气一氧化氮对慢性咳嗽人群中咳嗽变异型哮喘的诊断价值:Meta分析

目的 咳嗽变异型哮喘(cough variant asthma,CVA)是慢性咳嗽的常见病因.本研究旨在应用Meta分析的方法评价呼出气一氧化氮(fractional exhaled nitric oxide,FeNO)检测对慢性咳嗽人群CVA诊断的有效性和准确性.方法 检索Embase、PubMed、Medline、Cochrane library、Web of science、百度学术、中国期刊网和万方数据库,全面收集FeNO在慢性咳嗽人群对CVA诊断的文献,检索时限均从建库至2016年8月.根据QUADAS-2量表的评价标准对文献进行质量评价.用Stata 14.0、RevMan 5.0软件对文献进行异质性分析,并计算合并的敏感性、特异性、阳性似然比、阴性似然比、诊断优势比和SROC曲线下面积.结果 共纳入文献5篇,涉及慢性咳嗽患者704例.FeNO检测诊断CVA合并的敏感度、特异度、阳性似然比、阴性似然比、诊断优势比、SROC曲线下面积分别为0.74 [95％可信区间(CI):0.69～0.79],0.85 (95％ CI:0.81～0.88),4.73 (95％CI:3.70～6.05),0.31 (95％ CI:0.26～0.38),14.84 (95％CI:10.11～21.79)和0.87 (95％CI:0.84～0.89).结论 FeNO对慢性咳嗽人群中CVA的诊断有较好的敏感度和特异度,可作为重要的诊断指标.     

A panel of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for screening multiple myeloma: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proved to be effective diagnostic markers for multiple myeloma (MM). The meta‐analysis was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of related miRNAs. Multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CBM, and CNKI) were systematically searched for available studies up to March 2016. All data were analyzed with the help of software revman 5.3 and metadisc 1.4. The eligible articles’ quality was estimated by QUADAS‐2, and pooled parameters were acquired with the bivariate random‐effects meta‐analysis model. Subgroup analysis and meta‐regression were conducted to explore the heterogeneity of studies included. After steps of screening, seven qualified literatures were selected. They consisted of 22 studies that included 486 newly diagnosed MM patients and 292 healthy controls. Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) analyses of all miRNAs showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.86 (95%CI, 0.82–0.91). Together with the AUC, the positive likelihood ratio‐PLR 4.45 (95%CI, 3.28–6.04), negative likelihood ratio‐NLR 0.29 (95%CI, 0.24–0.35), and diagnostic odds ratio‐DOR 17.59 (95%CI, 11.26–27.4) confirmed that circulating miRNAs possessed relatively high diagnostic value in discriminating MM patients from healthy controls. For miRNAs combined together, miRNA‐1308/miRNA‐720 had the highest sensitivity 0.96 (95%CI, 0.79–1.00) and specificity 0.92 (95%CI 0.64–1.0). The subgroup and meta‐regression analyses also showed that miRNAs profiling was the sole source of heterogeneity, and the diagnostic accuracy of combined miRNAs was 6.02 times higher than single one. Combined circulating miRNAs in serum or plasma may be highly effective biomarker for diagnosis of MM.     

Endobronchial ultrasound‐guided transbronchial needle biopsy for the diagnosis of intrathoracic lymph node metastases from extrathoracic malignancies: A meta‐analysis and systematic review

Intrathoracic lymph node metastases in patients with extrathoracic malignancies are a common clinical manifestation. Several studies evaluating intrathoracic lymph node metastases in patients with extrathoracic malignancy by using the endobronchial ultrasound‐guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS‐TBNA) have been reported. The objective of this meta‐analysis is to investigate the diagnostic value of EBUS‐TBNA for diagnosing intrathoracic lymph node metastases in patients with extrathoracic malignancies. We systematically searched Cochrane Library, Medline and Embase for relevant studies published prior to May 2013. Studies specifically designed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of EBUS‐TBNA for intrathoracic lymph node metastases in patients with an extrathoracic malignancy were selected. Diagnostic accuracy meta‐analysis was conducted by pooling estimates of sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (NLR), positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) derived from a summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) analysis of the original studies. Six studies were included, which provided a dataset of 533 patients. EBUS‐TBNA pooled estimates had 0.85 sensitivity (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80–0.89), 0.99 specificity (95% CI: 0.95–1.00), PLR 28.63 (95% CI: 11.51–71.22) and NLR 0.16 (95% CI: 0.12–0.21). The overall DOR was 179.77 (95% CI: 66.29–487.50). The area under the SROC curve and the diagnostic accuracy were 0.9247 and 0.8588, respectively. Evidence gathered from studies of moderate quality reveals a high degree of diagnostic accuracy of EBUS‐TBNA for diagnosing intrathoracic lymph node metastases in patients with extrathoracic malignancies.     

Diagnostic accuracy of EUS for vascular invasion in pancreatic and periampullary cancers: a meta-analysis and systematic review

BACKGROUND: Vascular invasion (VI) in a patient with pancreatic or periampullary cancers precludes surgery and indicates a poor prognosis. Published data on the accuracy of EUS in diagnosing VI is varied. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the accuracy of EUS in diagnosing VI in patients with pancreatic and periampullary cancers. DESIGN: Data from EUS studies were pooled according to the Mantel-Haenszel and DerSimonian Laird methods. PATIENTS: EUS studies in which VI was confirmed by surgery or angiography were selected. INTERVENTIONS: EUS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio of EUS. RESULTS: Data were extracted from 29 studies (N = 1308) that met the inclusion criteria. The pooled sensitivity of EUS in diagnosing VI was 73% (95% CI, 68.8-76.9) and the pooled specificity was 90.2% (95% CI, 87.9-92.2). The positive likelihood ratio for diagnosing VI by EUS was 9.1 (95% CI, 4.6-17.9) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.3 (95% CI, 0.2-0.5). Diagnostic odds ratio, the odds of having VI in positive as compared with negative EUS studies, was 40.1 (95% CI, 16.1-99.9). The P value for chi(2) heterogeneity for all the pooled estimates was >.05. CONCLUSIONS: Although EUS is the best noninvasive test to diagnose VI in pancreatic and periampullary cancers, this meta-analysis showed that the specificity (90%) is high but the sensitivity (73%) is not as high as suggested. Further refinements in EUS technologies and interpretation may improve the sensitivity for detecting VI.     

Detection of gestational diabetes mellitus by circulating plasma and serum microRNAs: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aimsThe diagnostic performance of microRNAs (miRNAs), which have recently emerged as a potential early diagnostic tool capable of detecting gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in its early stages, has yet to be systematically investigated. This meta-analysis aims to investigate the diagnostic utility of circulating plasma or serum miRNAs in detecting GDM patients.MethodsEligible studies were included and assessed for risk of bias with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool. A bivariate meta-analysis using the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic model was performed to estimate the pooled diagnostic value of miRNAs.ResultsTwelve studies (32 index tests) cumulating a total of 1768 patients were included in the present study. The pooled sensitivity of miRNAs was 74.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.7–82.9) and the pooled specificity was 84.1% (95% CI: 76.8–89.3). The overall area under the curve was 0.869 (95% CI: 0.818–0.907) with a relatively narrow 95% confidence region and a wide 95% prediction region.ConclusionmiRNAs may emerge as a promising diagnostic tool in detecting GDM. Further cross-sectional cohort studies with larger sample sizes and more heterogeneous populations, and studies evaluating the accuracy of multiple miRNAs in diagnosing GDM are required to confirm our findings.     

Diagnostic Accuracy of Serum Cystatin C for the Evaluation of Renal Dysfunction in Diabetic Patients: A Meta‐Analysis

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum cystatin C for renal dysfunction in diabetic patients. Eligible trials were searched from multiple databases, the data were extracted into a 2 × 2 table after the quality assessment of included articles. The pooled sensitivity, specificity and other parameters of accuracy of cystatin C were analyzed using Stata version 12.0. Seventeen studies involving 2173 patients were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of serum cystatin C for the diagnosis of renal dysfunction were 0.88 (95% CI: 0.83–0.91) and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82–0.91), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 6.69 (95% CI: 4.83–9.26), negative likelihood ratio was 0.14 (95% CI: 0.10–0.20) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 46.57 (95% CI: 27.76–78.13). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.94. Analysis of the 12 studies that investigated serum creatinine indicated that serum cystatin C was more accurate than serum creatinine for the diagnosis of renal dysfunction. Our results indicate that serum cystatin C is an effective index in diagnosing renal dysfunction comparing serum creatinine, serum cystatin C is more sensitivity for evaluation of renal function in diabetic patients.     

小探头超声内镜诊断早期胃癌浸润深度准确性的Meta分析

目的对小探头超声内镜诊断早期胃癌浸润深度的准确性进行定量系统评价。 方法检索PubMed、Cochrane Library、Embase、CNKI、万方、维普数据库检索相关文献。对纳入的文献用Stata 14.2软件进行meta分析,得出汇总敏感度、特异度、阳性似然比、阴性似然比、诊断优势比及其95% CI,绘制总受试者工作特征曲线(SROC),并计算曲线下面积(AUC)等,评估其诊断价值。 结果共纳入文献16篇,包括3 168例病灶,汇总敏感度、特异度、阳性似然比、阴性似然比、诊断优势比及其95% CI分别是0.85(95% CI：0.78～0.90),0.73(95% CI：0.65～0.80),3.2(95% CI：2.4～4.1),0.20(95% CI：0.14～0.30),16(95% CI：9～26),SROC曲线下面积为0.85。 结论小探头超声内镜虽不能准确诊断早期胃癌M/SM1层浸润,但仍能很大程度提高对早期胃癌浸润深度的正确判断。     

Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration for the diagnosis of intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: It is difficult to diagnose the cause of abdominal lymphadenopathy without determining the primary lesions. With the advent of curved ultrasound endoscopy, EUS-FNA can sample lymph nodes safely, accurately and conveniently. Due to the lack of formal quantitative and comprehensive literature review to determine the diagnostic value of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of enlarged intra-abdominal lymph nodes of unknown origin, we conducted this study to systematically evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA in the enlarged intra-abdominal lymph nodes.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the accuracy of EUS-FNA for the diagnosis of intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library to collect related studies and diagnostic performance data. We used a random-effects model to estimate the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Heterogeneity was assessed by subgroup and meta-regression analysis.

Results: Twelve eligible studies involved 774 patients were identified. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of all studies is 94% (95% CI: 91% to 96%) and 98% (95% CI: 96% to 99%), respectively. The pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios are 17.44 (95% CI, 6.50 to 46.79) and 0.09 (95% CI: 0.06 to 0.14). The pooled DOR is 277.82 (95% CI, 97.65 to 790.46).

Conclusions: EUS-FNA is a safe and feasible technique with high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of abdominal lymph node enlargement. Considering the limitations and heterogeneity, high-quality studies are needed to further explore the diagnostic value of EUS-FNA.     

Diagnostic accuracy of electronic surveillance tool for catheter-associated urinary tract infections in tertiary care hospitals: A meta-analysis

Background:Automated systems have been developed to reduce labor-intensive manual recordings during nosocomial infection surveillance. The diagnostic accuracies of these systems have differed in various settings.Methods:We designed this meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of an electronic surveillance tool for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in tertiary care hospitals. We systematically searched databases such as Medline, Scopus, Cochrane library and Embase (from inception until November 2019) for relevant studies. We assessed the quality of trials using the diagnostic accuracy studies-2 tool, and performed a meta-analysis to obtain a pooled sensitivity and specificity for electronic surveillance. We included 6 studies with 16,492 patients in the analysis.Results:We found a pooled sensitivity of electronic diagnostic surveillance for CAUTIs of 97.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67.6–99.9%) and a pooled specificity of 92.6% (95% CI, 55.2–99.2%). The diagnostic odds ratio was 494 (95% CI, 89–2747). The positive likelihood ratio was 13.1 (95% CI, 1.63–105.8) and the negative likelihood ratio 0.02 (95% CI, 0.001–0.40). A bivariate box plot indicated the possibility of heterogeneity between the included studies.Conclusion:Our review suggests that electronic surveillance is useful for diagnosing CAUTIs among hospitalized patients in tertiary care hospitals due to its high sensitivity and specificity.     

Diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for pancreatic cancer: A meta-analysis

Background and objectiveEUS-FNA of pancreatic lesion has been put into clinical use widely in many centers. The present meta-analysis was conducted to study the diagnostic role of EUS-FNA in pancreatic cancer.MethodsA comprehensive review of study on the precision of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. A random effects model was used to pool the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). A summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) was constructed to summarize the overall test performance.ResultsThirty-one articles were eligible for the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR and DOR of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.88–0.90), 0.96 (95% CI: 0.95–0.97), 16.88 (95% CI: 10.63–26.79), 0.13 (95%CI: 0.10–0.16) and 150.80 (95%CI: 95.94–237.03) respectively. In subgroup meta-analysis of the prospective studies, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR and DOR were 0.91 (95% CI: 0.90–0.93), 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91–0.96), 11.19 (95% CI: 6.36–19.69), 0.10 (95% CI: 0.07–0.15) and 125.22 (62.37–251.41). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.97, indicating a good performance of overall accuracy.ConclusionEUS-FNA has the high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating pancreatic cancer. Moreover, it is also a safe diagnostic modality with little complications.     

Diagnostic accuracy of interleukin-33 for tuberculous pleural effusion: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:The detection of interleukin 33 (IL-33) in pleural effusion may be more sensitive in diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE). The present study aimed to assess the accuracy of pleural IL-33 for the diagnosis of TPE by means of meta-analysis and systematic review of relevant studies.Method:After retrieving the published studies, the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio, and a summary receiver operating characteristic curve were assessed to estimate the usefulness of pleural IL-33 in diagnosing TPE using meta-analysis with a random-effects model. We also performed meta-regression and subgroup analysis.Results:A total of 639 patients from 6 studies were analyzed. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82–0.91), 0.76 (95% CI, 0.72–0.80), 6.54 (95% CI, 2.65–16.15), 0.17 (95% CI, 0.10–1.27), and 45.40 (95% CI, 12.83–160.70) respectively. The area under the curve was 0.94. The composition of the included population was the main cause of heterogeneity and subgroup analysis showed that pleural IL-33 had a higher specificity (0.93, 95% CI 0.87–0.96) when used for differential diagnosis between TPE and malignant pleural effusion.Conclusion:The detection of IL-33 alone in pleural effusion seems to not be an efficient diagnostic marker for TPE but may serve as a novel biomarker to differentiate between TPE and malignant pleural effusion.     

Staging accuracy of esophageal cancer by endoscopic ultrasound：A meta-analysis and systematic review

AIM： To evaluate the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound （EUS） in the staging of esophageal cancer. METHODS： Only EUS studies confirmed by surgery were selected. Articles were searched in Medline and Pubmed. Two reviewers independently searched and extracted data. Meta-analysis of the accuracy of EUS was analyzed by calculating pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio. Pooling was conducted by both the Mantel-Haenszel method （fixed effects model） and DerSimonian Laird method （random effects model）. The heterogeneity of studies was tested using Cochran’s Q test based upon inverse variance weights. RESULTS： Forty-nine studies （n = 2558） which met the inclusion criteria were included in this analysis. Pooled sensitivity and specificity of EUS to diagnose T1 was 81.6% （95% CI： 77.8-84.9） and 99.4% （95% CI： 99.0-99.7）, respectively. To diagnose T4, EUS had a pooled sensitivity of 92.4% （95% CI： 89.2-95.0） and specificity of 97.4% （95% CI： 96.6-98.0）. With Fine Needle Aspiration （FNA）, sensitivity of EUS to diagnose N stage improved from 84.7% （95% CI： 82.9-86.4） to 96.7% （95% CI： 92.4-98.9）. The P value for the χ2 test of heterogeneity for all pooled estimates was 〉 0.10. CONCLUSION： EUS has excellent sensitivity and specificity in accurately diagnosing the TN stage of esophageal cancer. EUS performs better with advanced （T4） than early （T1） disease. FNA substantially improves the sensitivity and specificity of EUS in evaluating N stage disease. EUS should be strongly considered for staging esophageal cancer.     

Diagnostic Value of Computed Tomography in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) has been approved for diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The diagnostic accuracy, however, has never been examined in a systematic review. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the accuracy of CT in diagnosing COPD. Methods: Articles reporting diagnostic accuracy of CT for COPD were searched from seven electronic databases and hand searching. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR–, respectively), and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) were pooled using a bivariate model. The diagnostic performance of overall test also was assessed using the visual power of the ROC plot to present the bivariate model. Potential between-study heterogeneity was explored using subgroup analyses. Results: Data were extracted from 8 studies that met the inclusion criteria. All summary measures were grossly heterogeneous and therefore would not be appropriately summarized. These studies were further stratified by type of imaging technique and test index. The summary estimates of CT for COPD were as follows: SEN, 0.83(95% CI, 0.73-0.89); SPE, 0.87(95% CI, 0.70-0.95); LR+, 6.2(95% CI, 2.5-15.5); LR–, 0.20(95% CI, 0.12-0.34); and DOR, 31(95% CI, 8-116). The five summary estimates of CT on the lung density were 0.80 (95% CI, 0.74-0.84), 0.77(95% CI, 0.58-0.89), 3.5(95% CI, 1.8-6.9), 0.26(95% CI, 0.20-0.34) and 13(95% CI, 6-32), respectively. Conclusions: The current meta-analyses suggest that quantitative measures of CT may be useful to diagnose COPD. Developed CT technology may improve the accuracy of diagnosis. Further studies assessed diagnostic performance of CT are needed.     

No association between the risk of breast cancer and systemic lupus erythematosus: evidence from a meta-analysis

Several studies have estimated breast cancer risk in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) relative to the general population. However, the results have been inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to ascertain a more comprehensive conclusion. A systematic literature search of electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus was conducted to identify eligible studies using multiple search strategies. Based on the degree of heterogeneity, a random-effect model was chosen to calculate the pooled standardized incidence rate (SIR) with 95% confidence interval (CI), to estimate the strength of association between SLE and breast cancer incidence risk. A total of 18 eligible studies including 110,720 patients with SLE were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The combined results showed no significant association between SLE and breast cancer incidence (SIRs = 1.012 (95% CI, 0.797–1.284)). Subgroup analysis by study type, ethnicity, follow-up years, sample size, and SLE diagnostic criteria also showed no altered risk for breast cancer incidence (the summary risk estimate of each subgroup ranged from 0.82 to 1.40 with no statistical significance). This meta-analysis suggests no direct association between SLE and risk of breast cancer incidence.     

血清半乳甘露聚糖检测诊断侵袭性曲霉病价值的荟萃分析

目的 评价ELISA法检测血清半乳甘露聚糖(GM)诊断侵袭性曲霉病(IA)的价值.方法 检索Medline生物医学数据库、医学文摘资料库(EMbase)、OVID全文期刊库、中国生物医学文献数据库、中国生物医学期刊文献数据库及万方数据库等,检索时间为1991年1月至2008年12月,收集关于GM试验诊断IA临床价值的相关文献,进行质量评价、异质性分析、合并效应量、绘制合并受试者工作特征曲线并进行亚组分析.结果 纳入文献36篇,包括4959例患者,总体研究人群的IA平均患病率为11%(532/4959).荟萃分析结果显示,各研究间存在中等度异质性(I2=48.6%,P＜0.01),合并诊断优势比为19.10(95%CI为12.67～28.79),合并敏感度为0.66(95%CI为0.61～0.70),合并特异度为0.90(95%CI为0.89～0.90),阳性似然比为5.48(95%CI为4.27～7.02),阴性似然比0.38(95%CI为0.29～0.50),合并受试者工作特征曲线下面积为0.89.GM试验诊断IA的漏诊率为34%(168/490),误诊率为10%(466/4469);当采用的诊断临界值升高时敏感度下降,特异度升高;2次连续GM试验阳性较单次阳性诊断IA的敏感度降低,但特异度升高;年龄对GM试验诊断IA的效力无明显影响(P＞0.05);预防性抗真菌治疗或抗真菌治疗对GM试验诊断IA的敏感度和特异度均无明显影响(P＞0.05).结论 现有文献的荟萃分析结果表明,在高危人群中ELISA法检测GM抗原诊断IA具有较高价值.     

Diagnostic value of serum anti-C1q antibodies in patients with lupus nephritis: a meta-analysis

The autoantibodies against C1q (anti-C1q) have been reported in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In the past decade, though there were increasing studies suggesting it is relatively specific in lupus nephritis (LN), its overall diagnostic value in LN has not been evaluated. The meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of autoantibodies against C1q in patients with LN, and to provide more precise evidence of a correlation between anti-C1q antibodies and activity of LN. We searched Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases and contacted authors if necessary. A total of 25 studies including 2,502 patients with SLE and 1,317 with LN met our inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. Among all 25 studies, 22 studies were available for comparison between SLE with and without LN, and 9 studies compared anti-C1q between patients with active and inactive LN. Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was used to summarize comprehensive test performance. The QUADAS tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. For the diagnosis of LN, the pooled sensitivity and specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of anti-C1q were 0.58 (0.56-0.61, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]), 0.75 (0.72-0.77, 95% CI), 2.60 (2.06-3.28, 95% CI), 0.51 (0.41-0.63, 95% CI), and 6.08 (3.91-9.47, 95% CI) respectively. The area under the SROC curve (AUC) was 0.7941. For comparison between active and inactive LN, the weighted sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR and DOR were 0.74 (0.68-0.79, 95% CI), 0.77 (0.71-0.82, 95% CI), 2.91 (1.83-4.65, 95% CI), 0.33 (0.19-0.56, 95% CI), and 10.56 (4.56-24.46, 95% CI) respectively. The AUC was 0.8378. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that anti-C1q antibodies have relatively fair sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of LN, suggesting that the presence of anti-C1q antibodies may be a valuable adjunct for predicting LN and assessing renal activity.     

Role of fibroscan and APRI in detection of liver fibrosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and study aimsFibroscan and APRI are promising noninvasive alternatives to liver biopsy for detecting hepatic fibrosis. However, their overall test performance in various settings remains questionable. The aim of our study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies comparing fibroscan and APRI with liver biopsy for hepatic fibrosis.Patients and methodsElectronic and manual bibliographic searches to identify potential studies were performed. Selection of studies was based on reported accuracy of fibroscan and APRI compared with liver biopsy. Data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers. Meta-analysis combined the sensitivities, specificities, and likelihood ratios of individual studies. Extent and reasons for heterogeneity were assessed.Results23 studies for fibroscan and 20 studies for APRI in full publication were identified. For patients with stage IV fibrosis (cirrhosis), the pooled estimates for sensitivity of fibroscan were 83.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.7–95.0%) and specificity 92.4% (95% CI, 85.6–99.2%). For patients with stage IV fibrosis (cirrhosis), the pooled estimates for sensitivity of APRI at cutoff point of 1.5 were 66.5% (95% CI, 25.0–100%) and specificity 71.7% (95% CI, 35.0–100%). Diagnostic threshold bias was identified as an important cause of heterogeneity for pooled results in both patient groups.ConclusionsFibroscan and APRI appear to be clinically useful tests for detecting cirrhosis however not useful tools in early stages of fibrosis.     

Clinical Diagnostic Implications of Body Fluid MiRNA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

Oral cancer, predominantly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is one of the most leading causes of cancers worldwide. Due to a low 5-year survival rate, highly effective methods for the early detection of OSCC are totally needed. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as promising biomarkers, can bring insights into tumorigenesis of oral cancers. However, studies on the accuracy of miRNAs detection in OSCC have inconsistent conclusions, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis. The aim of this study was to systematically review the articles investigating the diagnostic value of miRNAs in OSCC.The PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science were searched (updated to June 11th, 2015) to identify all articles evaluating the diagnostic yield of miRNAs for OSCC. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic parameters were used to assess the performance of miRNAs assays on OSCC detection. Statistical analysis was conducted by employing the R software.The present meta-analysis comprised 23 studies from 10 articles, including 598 OSCC patients and 320 healthy individuals, available for analysis. The summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve was plotted. Meanwhile, the pooled diagnostic parameters and the area under curve (AUC) were calculated based on all included studies. The pooled diagnostic parameters calculated from all 23 studies were as follows: pooled sensitivity of 0.759 (95% CI: 0.701–0.809), pooled specificity of 0.773 (95% CI: 0.713–0.823) and AUC of 0.832, which indicates a relatively high diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs in differentiating OSCC patients from healthy controls. Meanwhile, In addition, subgroup analyses were conducted to access the heterogeneity between studies, which is based on specimen (serum/plasma/blood/saliva/ tissue) and ethnicity (Asian/Caucasian).In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that miRNAs might be used in noninvasive screening tests for OSCC, which needs further large-scale studies to be validated.     

Diagnostic value of EUS elastography in differentiation of benign and malignant solid pancreatic masses: A meta-analysis

Background/AimsEUS elastography is a novel technique that can be used for distinguishing benign from malignant lymph nodes and focal pancreatic masses. However, the studies pertaining to EUS elastography for differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses have reported widely varied sensitivities and specificities. A meta-analysis of all relevant articles was performed to estimate the overall diagnostic accuracy of EUS elastography for differentiating benign and malignant solid pancreatic masses.MethodsThe literatures were identified by searching in PubMed and Embase databases. Two reviewers independently extracted the information from the literatures for constructing 2 × 2 table. A random-effect model or a fixed-effect model was used to estimate the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio. A summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) also was constructed. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were used to explore the sources of heterogeneity.Results13 studies including a total of 1042 patients with solid pancreatic masses were selected for meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of EUS elastography for differentiating benign and malignant solid pancreatic masses were 95% (95% confidence interval [CI], 93%–96%), 69% (95% CI, 63%–75%), respectively. The area under SROC (AUC) was 0.8695. Two significant variables were associated with heterogeneity: color pattern and blinding.ConclusionAs a less invasive modality, EUS elastography is a promising method for differentiating benign and malignant solid pancreatic masses with a high sensitivity, and it can prove to be a valuable supplement to EUS-FNA.     

Diagnostic performance of magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging in differentiating neoplastic colorectal polyps from non-neoplastic colorectal polyps: a meta-analysis

Colorectal polyps are commonly seen in colonoscopy and the management of neoplastic polyps and non-neoplastic polyps are different. It is necessary to distinguish neoplastic polyps from non-neoplastic polyps in real-time. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic accuracy of magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI) in diagnosing neoplastic colorectal polyps from non-neoplastic colorectal polyps. PubMed and EMBASE were searched for trials that used magnifying endoscopy with ME-NBI for diagnosing neoplastic colorectal polyps. Sixteen articles and 20 fourfold tables were obtained. Sensitivity (Sen), specificity (Spe), positive likelihood ratios (+ LRs), negative likelihood ratios (− LRs) and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) were calculated. A summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curve was constructed, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated. We performed subgroup analyses based on polyp size and assessment criteria: (1) According to data extracted from 20 fourfold tables, the pooled Sen and Spe of ME-NBI for diagnosing neoplastic colorectal polyps < 10 mm were 0.94 (95% CI 0.92–0.95) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.72–0.80),respectively. The pooled Sen and Spe of ME-NBI for diagnosing all neoplastic polyps were 0.98 (95% CI 0.98–0.99) and 0.88 (95% CI 0.85–0.90), respectively. (2) Data pertaining to the following three assessment methods were analysed from 15 fourfold tables: surface pattern (SP), vessel pattern (VP) and the combination of SP and VP. The AUCs for these assessment criteria were 0.9533, 0.9518 and 0.9954, respectively. Conclusions were made that ME-NBI has high diagnostic accuracy in diagnosing neoplastic colorectal polyps based on the combination of SP with VP and is helpful in making real-time diagnoses.