scholarly journals Value of the Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in Predicting COVID-19 Severity: A Meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Jingyi Zhao ◽  
Lan Yang ◽  
Junhui Hu ◽  
Yinhui Yao

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly contagious and continues to spread rapidly. However, there are no simple and timely laboratory techniques to determine the severity of COVID-19. In this meta-analysis, we assessed the potential of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an indicator of severe versus nonsevere COVID-19 cases. Methods. A search for studies on the NLR in severe and nonsevere COVID-19 cases published from January 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, was conducted on the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) analyses were done on Stata 14.0 and Meta-disc 1.4 to assess the performance of the NLR. Results. Thirty studies, including 5570 patients, were analyzed. Of these, 1603 and 3967 patients had severe and nonsevere COVID-19, respectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.77-0.87) and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.70-0.83), respectively; positive and negative correlation ratios were 3.6 (95% CI, 2.7-4.7) and 0.23 (95% CI, 0.17-0.30), respectively; DOR was 16 (95% CI, 10-24), and the AUC was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.84-0.90). Conclusion. The NLR could accurately determine the severity of COVID-19 and can be used to identify patients with severe disease to guide clinical decision-making.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingyang Zhu ◽  
Haitao Zhang ◽  
Xiaobo Sun ◽  
Yijin Li ◽  
Jiahao Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Fibrinogen (FIB) has recently been used as a biomarker to diagnose periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), but its reliability is still questionable. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of FIB in the diagnosis of PJI after joint replacement. Methods We searched for literatures published in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library from the time of database inception to September 2020 and screened the studies according to the inclusion criteria. Then, we calculated the diagnostic parameters of FIB, including the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), area under the curve (AUC), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). In addition, we implemented subgroup analyses to identify the sources of heterogeneity. Results Seven studies including 1341 patients were selected in our meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, and DOR of FIB for PJI diagnosis were 0.78 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73–0.82), 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81–0.86), 4.60 (95% CI, 3.30–6.42), 0.24 (95% CI, 0.18–0.34), and 20.13 (95% CI, 14.80–27.36), respectively, while the AUC was 0.896. Conclusion The present study indicated that FIB was a reliable detection method and might be introduced into the diagnostic criteria for PJI. However, more robust studies are still needed to confirm the current findings, because most of the included studies were retrospective and had small sample sizes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihao Kong ◽  
Yuanyuan He ◽  
Huarui Bao ◽  
Wenlong Zhang ◽  
Xingyu Wang

Background. Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a life-threatening disease caused by a variety of factors, and once it progresses to severe acute pancreatitis, the prognosis is poor. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis. Materials and Methods. We searched the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to identify eligible studies using the NLR to predict the severity of AP. The sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were combined using a bivariate mixed model. Results. A total of 10 articles containing 394 cases and 1319 controls were included in the study. The combined SEN, SPE, NLR, PLR, DOR, and AUC are 79% (73%-84%), 71% (59%-80%), 0.30 (0.21-0.41), 2.7 (1.8-4.0), 9 (5-18), and 0.82 (0.78-0.85), respectively. Conclusions. NLR has a moderately high diagnostic value in predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Lin ◽  
Shiping Hu ◽  
Yun Ran ◽  
Fenfang Wu

Abstract Background: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is one of the poor prognostic factors of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients. As contradictory data are seen concerning the predictive ability of NLR, a meta-analysis is performed for the determination of its prognostic value in patients with HCC in this study.Methods: We systematically searched several databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library with the updated date of January 21, 2020. Pooled estimates of odds ratio (OR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were used to assess the prognostic performance of NLR in HCC patients.Results: Nine studies containing a total of 3,862 HCC patients were included. High baseline NLR was correlated with poor prognosis or recurrence significantly. The patient-based analysis of pooled estimates was as follows: sensitivity 0.68 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.58-0.77], specificity 0.73 (95% CI, 0.61-0.82), and DOR 6.347 (95% CI, 5.450-7.391), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLHR) were 2.5 (95% CI, 1.8-3.6) and 0.43 (95% CI, 0.33-0.57). Furthermore, the area under the curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) reflecting the diagnostic accuracy was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.72-0.80). Results obtained from subgroup meta-analyses and overall meta-analyses were accordingly consistent with each other.Conclusions: Our findings suggested that NLR is an efficient prognostic factor for patients with HCC, especially for those from East Asian with high incidence. In the future, trails with larger sample sizes and more high-quality evidence are needed to further enhance the patient outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Tian-Ao Xie ◽  
Ye-Ling Liu ◽  
Rui-Chun Meng ◽  
Xiao-Shan Liu ◽  
Ke-Ying Fang ◽  
...  

Background. Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are widely spread across the world. Asymptomatic or inconspicuous CT/NG infections are difficult to diagnose and treat. Traditional methods have the disadvantages of low detection rate, inaccurate results, and long detection time. However, Xpert CT/NG makes up for the aforementioned shortcomings and has research value and popularization significance. Methods. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were systematically searched, and studies were screened using Xpert CT/NG for diagnosing CT/NG. QUADAS-2 was used to evaluate the quality of the eligible studies. Then, two groups of researchers independently extracted data from these studies. Meta-analyses of sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and the area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve were conducted using Meta-DiSc 1.4. Finally, Deek’s funnel plots were made using Stata 12.0 to evaluate publication bias. Results. 14 studies were identified, and 46 fourfold tables were extracted in this meta-analysis. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC in diagnosing CT were 0.94 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93–0.95), 0.99 (95% CI: 0.99–1.00), 97.17 (95% CI: 56.76–166.32), 0.07 (95% CI: 0.04–0.12), 1857.25 (95% CI: 943.78–3654.86), and 0.9960, respectively. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC in diagnosing NG were 0.95 (95% CI: 0.93–0.96), 1.00 (95% CI: 1.00–1.00), 278.15 (95% CI: 152.41–507.63), 0.08 (95% CI: 0.06–0.12), 4290.70 (95% CI: 2161.78–8516.16), and 0.9980, respectively. Conclusions. Xpert CT/NG had high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for CT and NG. However, more evidence is required to confirm that Xpert CT/NG might serve as the primary method for detecting CT and NG and even the gold standard for diagnosis in the future.


2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jisi Xing ◽  
Jiahao Li ◽  
Zijian Yan ◽  
Yijin Li ◽  
Xiaofang Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is considered to be one of the most challenging complications of joint replacement, which remains unpredictable. As a simple and emerging biomarker, calprotectin (CLP) has been considered to be useful in ruling out PJI in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy and sensitivity of CLP in the diagnosis of PJI. Methods We searched and screened the publications from PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from database establishment to June 2021. Subsequently, Stata version 16.0 software was used to combine the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), operating characteristic curve, and area under the curve (AUC). Heterogeneity across articles was evaluated by the I2 statistics. Finally, sources of heterogeneity were detected by subgroup analysis based on study design, detection method, sample size, and cutoff values. Results A total of 7 studies were included in our study, comprising 525 patients. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, and NLR of CLP for PJI diagnosis were 0.94(95% CI 0.87–0.98), 0.93(95% CI 0.87–0.96), 13.65(95% CI 6.89–27.08), and 0.06(95% CI 0.02–0.15), respectively, while the DOR and AUC were 222.33(95% CI 52.52–941.11) and 0.98 (95% CI 0.96–0.99), respectively. Conclusion Synovial CLP is a reliable biomarker and can be used as a diagnostic criterion for PJI in the future. However, the uncertainty resulting from the poor study numbers and sample sizes limit our ability to definitely draw conclusions on the basis of our study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153303382110119
Author(s):  
Wen-Ting Zhang ◽  
Guo-Xun Zhang ◽  
Shuai-Shuai Gao

Background: Leukemia is a common malignant disease in the human blood system. Many researchers have proposed circulating microRNAs as biomarkers for the diagnosis of leukemia. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of circulating miRNAs in the diagnosis of leukemia. Methods: A comprehensive literature search (updated to October 13, 2020) in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was performed to identify eligible studies. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) for diagnosing leukemia were pooled for both overall and subgroup analysis. The meta-regression and subgroup analysis were performed to explore heterogeneity and Deeks’ funnel plot was used to assess publication bias. Results: 49 studies from 22 publications with a total of 3,489 leukemia patients and 2,756 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio and area under the curve were 0.83, 0.92, 10.8, 0.18, 59 and 0.94, respectively. Subgroup analysis shows that the microRNA clusters of plasma type could carry out a better diagnostic accuracy of leukemia patients. In addition, publication bias was not found. Conclusions: Circulating microRNAs can be used as a promising noninvasive biomarker in the early diagnosis of leukemia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zhang ◽  
Bingjie Zhang ◽  
Zhulin Zhou ◽  
Yutong Guo ◽  
Dan Wang

AbstractObjectiveGlycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has obvious clinical value in the diagnosis of diabetes, but the conclusions on the diagnostic value of diabetic retinopathy (DR) are not consistent. This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the accuracy of glycosylated hemoglobin in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy through the meta-analysis of diagnostic tests.MethodsCochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) were searched until November, 2020. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated by Stata 15.0 software.ResultsAfter screening, 18 high-quality papers were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the combined DOR = 18.19 (95% CI: 10.99–30.11), the sensitivity= 0.81 (95% CI): 0.75 ~ 0.87), specificity = 0.81 (95%CI: 0.72 ~ 0.87), +LR = 4.2 (95%CI: 2.95 ~ 6.00), −LR = 0.23 (95%CI: 0.17 ~ 0.31), and the area under the Summary ROC curve was 0.88 (95%CI:  0.85 ~ 0.90).ConclusionThe overall accuracy of HbA1cC forin diagnosing diabetic retinopathy is good. As it is more stable than blood sugar and is not affected by meals, it may be a suitable indicator for diabetic retinopathy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Lan Tang ◽  
Xiao Chen ◽  
Chang-Guo Zhu ◽  
Zhong-wei Li ◽  
Yong Xia ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The present meta-analysis examined the diagnostic accuracy of T2 Candida for candidiasis. Methods The literature databases, such as PubMed, Embase, DVIO, Cochrane library, Web of Science, and CNKI, were searched on T2 Candida detection. Results A total of 8 articles, comprising of 2717 research subjects, were included in the study. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88–0.94) and 0.94 95% CI: 0.93–0.95), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio was 10.16 (95% CI: 2.75–37.50) and 0.08 (95% CI: 0.02–0.35), respectively. The combined diagnostic odds ratio is 133.65 95% CI: 17.21–1037.73), and the AUC of SROC is 0.9702 [(SE = 0.0235), Q* = 0.9201(SE = 0.0381)]. Conclusions The current evidence supported that T2 Candida has high accuracy and sensitivity and is of major clinical significance in the diagnosis of Candida infection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingqin Hao ◽  
Yadi Han ◽  
Wei Xia ◽  
Qinghui Wang ◽  
Huizhong Qian

Emerging studies have reported circRNAs were dysregulated in HCC. However, the clinical value of these circRNAs remains to be clarified. Herein, we aimed to comprehensively explore their association with the diagnosis, prognosis, and clinicopathological characteristics of HCC. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched for eligible studies up to October 30, 2018. The diagnostic effect was evaluated by the pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other indexes. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) was calculated to assess the prognostic value. Ten studies on diagnosis, 12 on prognosis, and 23 on clinicopathology were identified from the databases. A total of 11 upregulated and 11 downregulated circRNAs showed an association with clinicopathological features of HCC. For the diagnosis analyses, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of circRNAs for HCC were 0.74 (95%CI: 0.65-0.82) and 0.76 (95%CI: 0.70-0.81), 3.1 (95%CI: 2.5-3.8), 0.34 (95%CI: 0.25-0.47), and 9 (95%CI: 6-14), respectively. The area under SROC curve (AUC) was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.78–0.84), indicating moderate diagnostic accuracy. In stratified analyses, the diagnostic performance of circRNAs varied based on the source of control and specimen type. For the prognosis analyses, increased expression of upregulated circRNAs was associated with worse OS (HR: 3.67, 95%: 2.07-6.48), while high expression of downregulated circRNAs was associated with better OS (HR: 0.38, 95%: 0.30-0.48). In conclusion, this study reveals that circRNAs may serve as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC. However, further investigations are still required to explore the clinical value of circRNAs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Luo ◽  
Ying Xue ◽  
Liyan Mao ◽  
Qun Lin ◽  
Guoxing Tang ◽  
...  

Background: Tuberculous peritonitis (TP) is a common form of abdominal tuberculosis (TB). Diagnosing TP remains challenging in clinical practice. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of peripheral blood (PB) T-SPOT and peritoneal fluid (PF) T-SPOT for diagnosing TP.Methods: PubMed, EmBase, Cochrane, Scopus, Google scholar, China national knowledge internet, and Wan-Fang databases were searched for relevant articles from August 1, 2005 to July 5, 2020. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata, Revman, and Meta-Disc software. Diagnostic parameters including pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were determined. Summary receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine the area under the curve (AUC).Results: Twelve studies were eligible and included in the meta-analysis. The analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity and specificity of PB T-SPOT in diagnosing TP were 0.91 (95% CI, 0.88–0.94) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.73–0.81), respectively, while the pooled PLR, NLR, and DOR were 4.05 (95% CI, 2.73–6.01), 0.13 (95% CI, 0.07–0.23), and 37.8 (95% CI, 15.04–94.98), respectively. On the other hand, the summary estimates of sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, and DOR of PF T-SPOT for TP diagnosis were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.85–0.94), 0.78 (95% CI, 0.72–0.83), 6.35 (95% CI, 2.67–15.07), 0.14 (95% CI, 0.09–0.21), and 58.22 (95% CI, 28.76–117.83), respectively. Furthermore, the AUC of PB T-SPOT and PF T-SPOT for TP diagnosis were 0.91 and 0.94, respectively.Conclusions: Our results indicate that both PB T-SPOT and PF T-SPOT can be served as sensitive approaches for the diagnosis of TP. However, the unsatisfactory specificities of these two methods limit their application as rule-in tests for TP diagnosis. Furthermore, the standardization of the operating procedure of PF T-SPOT is further needed.


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