Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT) for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, BIOSIS to identify all diagnostic tests which evaluated the diagnostic value of PCT in patients with VAP. QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR), summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve, and the heterogeneity of the included studies were calculated by using the Meta-disk software. Results Five studies which were identified from 103 references met the inclusion criteria. The summary sensitivity, specificity, +LR, and –LR values were 0.70 (95%CI 0.62 to 0.77), 0.76 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.82), 5.651 (95%CI 1.237 to 25.810), and 0.349 (95%CI 0.155 to 0.784), respectively. Overall area under the curve (AUC) of SROC curve was 0.884 (DOR=19.416, 95%CI 2.473 to 152.47), demonstrating significant heterogeneity (I2gt;50%). Conclusion The use of PCT for VAP diagnosis has only a moderate sensitivity and specificity. Although the overall accuracy of VAP diagnosis is relatively high, there is significant heterogeneity between the studies, so more high-quality studies are needed. Besides, using PCT alone to diagnose VAP is not sufficient, and a combination with other clinical evaluations is necessary.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the diagnostic value of FibroScan for the staging of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B. MethodsWe searched the PubMed, EMbase, Web of Knowledge, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI databases for studies investigated the diagnostic value of FibroScan for hepatic fibrosis B from Jan. 1st, 2003 to Aug. 31st, 2013. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the exclusion and inclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed methodological quality of included studies. Then, Stata 13.0 software was used to analyze the data. ResultsA total of 15 studies involving 2 588 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio and the AUC of SROC were 0.77 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.83), 0.84 (95%CI 0.70 to 0.87), 3.8 (95%CI 2.6 to 5.6), 0.29 (95%CI 0.22 to 0.38), 13 (95%CI 8 to 21), 0.82 (95%CI 0.82 to 0.88) for hepatic fibrosis; and were 0.81 (95%CI 0.73 to 0.87), 0.89 (95%CI 0.86 to 0.92), 7.5 (95%CI 5.3 to 10.3), 0.21 (95%CI 0.14 to 0.31), 36 (95%CI 20 to 65), 0.93 (95%CI 0.90 to 0.95) for early hepatic cirrhosis, respectively. ConclusionThe current evidence suggests that FibroScan is of good accuracy in the diagnosis of early hepatic fibrosis but not for hepatic cirrhosis in patient with chronic hepatitis B.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of all diagnostic tests for detecting armazide resistance in mycobacterium tuberculosis. Methods We searched PUBMED, EMBASE, CBM, CSJD and CJFD. QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of included studies. Meta-disc software was used to handle data from included studies. Results Twelve studies were included. Meta-analyses showed that the summary sensitivity and summary specificity of nitrate reductase assay were 92% and 99%, and those of BACTEC MGIT 960 system were 93% and 96%, respectively. The SROC of nitrate reductase assay and BACTEC MGIT 960 system were 0.9836 and 0.9862, respectively. Conclusion We recommend that proportion method can be replaced by nitrate reductase assay as a screening test for detecting armazide resistance in mycobacterium tuberculosis, and BACTEC 460 can be replaced by BACTEC MGIT 960 system as a final diagnostic test for detecting armazide resistance in mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Depending on different designs of original studies, systematic reviews of diagnostic studies could be categorized into two kinds:one is based on diagnostic randomized controlled trials, of which the GRADE rating approach is similar to that of interventional systematic reviews; and the other is based on diagnostic accuracy tests, of which the GRADE rating approach is introduced in this article. This article explains the application of GRADE in systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy tests mainly from the angle of theoretical analysis, including rationales, methods, and challenges.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the diagnostic value of the combined test of serum CA153, CA125 and CEA in detection of breast cancer. MethodsClinical diagnostic tests about CA153, CA125 and CEA in patients with breast cancer were retrieved in PubMed, EMbase, CBM, The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2014), CNKI, VIP, and WanFang Data from January 1st, 2004 to April 16st, 2014. References of included literature were also retrieved. Literature screening according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction and methodological quality assessment were completed by two reviewers independently. Meta-analysis was then conducted using Meta-Disc 1.4 software. ResultsA total of 21 studies involving 4 263 subjects were enrolled. In all studies, the results of meta-analysis indicated that:the DOR, AUC and Q index of the single test (CA153) were 18.71 (95%CI 11.62 to 30.11), 0.858 9, and 0.789 7; while those of the combined test (CA153, CA125 and CEA) were 37.95 (95%CI 21.97 to 65.57), 0.959 1, 0.903 1. Compared with the single test, the diagnostic efficacy of the combined test was higher (Z=3.675, P=0.001 5). ConclusionCompared with the detection of CA153 alone, the combined detection of CA125, CA153 and CEA has higher efficacy and accuracy in the diagnosis of breast cancer.
ObjectiveTo systematic review the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance (MR) for pulmonary embolism (PE).MethodsWe electronically searched databases including EMbase, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, WanFang Data and CNKI from inception to November 2016, to collect the diagnostic studies about MR in the diagnosis of PE. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, and then meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 14 studies involving 1 042 patients were included. The pooled Sen, Spe, +LR, –LR and DOR were 0.90 (95%CI 0.83 to 0.94), 0.95 (95%CI 0.90 to 0.98), 19.8 (95%CI 8.5 to 46.1), 0.10 (95%CI 0.06 to 0.18), 189 (95%CI 69 to 521), respectively. The AUC of SROC were 0.97 (95%CI 0.95 to 0.98).ConclusionMR has a good diagnosis value for PE which can be regarded as an effective and feasible method for suspected PE patients, especially for those who has contraindication of computed tomographic pulmonary angiography.
目的 探讨诱导痰、痰、血清中的白介素(IL)-4、-6、-8在慢性支气管炎急性期的浓度阈值，确定其诊断意义，了解三种白介素在三种标本中的不同浓度对诊断慢性支气管炎急性期的意义。 方法 2001年1月-8月对77例慢性反复咳嗽患者按全国慢性支气管炎诊断标准确诊慢性支气管炎急性期48例，非慢性支气管炎29例，进行IL-4、-6、-8的诱导痰、痰、血清检测。采用受试者工作特征曲线(ROC曲线)鉴定三种白介素对三种标本的诊断价值。 结果 ①三种标本的三种白介素的诊断比值比(DOR)均＞3，95%可信区间的下限均＞1。②ROC曲线下面积显示：诱导痰及痰中IL-4、-8之间无差别(P＞0.05)，IL-4和IL-8分别与IL-6之间有统计学意义(P＜0.05)；血清中IL-4、-6、-8检测结果无差异(P＞0.05)。IL-4、-8的诱导痰及痰与血清有统计学意义(P＜0.05)，IL-6的诱导痰、痰、血清之间无差异(P＞0.05)。 结论 诱导痰及痰中的IL-4、-8诊断价值较好，可用于慢性支气管炎急性期的诊断。
With the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning has been widely used in diagnosis of diseases. It is crucial to conduct diagnostic test accuracy studies and evaluate the performance of models reasonably to improve the accuracy of diagnosis. For machine learning-based diagnostic test accuracy studies, this paper introduces the principles of study design in the aspects of target conditions, selection of participants, diagnostic tests, reference standards and ethics.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the diagnostic value of the ultrasonographic elastography in the differential diagnosis of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer.MethodsWe electronically searched the databases including The Cochrane Library, PubMed, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, MedaLink and CBM for studies about diagnostic value of the ultrasonographic elastography in the differential diagnosis of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer from inception to October 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using MetaDisc 1.4 software.ResultsA total of 9 studies involving 735 lymph nodes were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, the pooled sensitivity, pooled specificity, pooled positive likelihood ratio, pooled negative likelihood ratio and DOR were 0.82 (95%CI 0.78 to 0.86), 0.76 (95%CI 0.72 to 0.81), 3.32 (95%CI 2.57 to 4.27), 0.25 (95%CI 0.20 to 0.31), and 14.77 (95%CI 10.20 to 21.38), respectively. The AUC of the SROC curve was 0.8741.ConclusionUltrasonographic elastography has high sensitivity and specificity in the differential diagnosis of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer, which indicates that it can be used to diagnosis axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer.
Objective To review literatures regarding the diagnosis of asthma with the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide( eNO) and assess the effectiveness and accuracy of eNO in the diagnosis of asthma.Methods MEDLINE, OVID, CBMdisc, CNKI( 1991 to 2008) for studies involving the diagnostic value of eNO were searched, and references of included studies were also hand searched. QUADAS ( Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies) items were used for quality assessment in the systematic review. Meta-disc software was used to analyze heterogeneity. Sensitivity, specificity and summary diagnostic odds ratio( SDOR) were used for the pooled analysis. The summary receiver operating characteristic ( SROC)curves were drew and the summary areas under the SROC ( SAUC) were calculated. Finally, sensitivity analysis was performed. Results Eleven literatures with15 studies were included. These 15 studies had well controlled the bias of partial verification, differential verification, incorporation and withdrawals. The possibility of the disease progression bias was less and the reference standard review could have a greater bias. The spectrumcomposition of a study, the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the reporting quality were poorly reported. In statistical analysis, the totally pooled sensitivity, pooled specificity, SDOR, SAUC of the measurement of eNO in the diagnosis of asthma was 0. 68, 0. 79, 12. 73, 0. 8446, respectively. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated no disproportionate influences of individual study. Conclusions eNO has a certain value in the diagnosis of asthma. To make further analysis, more studies with high quality are needed.