Identifying latent tuberculosis in high-risk populations: systematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 1178-1190
Author(s):  
P. Auguste ◽  
J. Madan ◽  
A. Tsertsvadze ◽  
R. Court ◽  
N. McCarthy ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The relative accuracy of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) in identifying latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is uncertain.OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the sensitivity and specificity of IGRAs and TST for the prediction of progression to clinical tuberculosis (TB).METHODS: We searched electronic databases (e.g., MEDLINE and EMBASE) from December 2009 to September 2018 for prospective studies that followed up individuals who had undergone testing with commercial IGRAs and/or TST but had not received treatment based on the test result. The sensitivity and specificity estimates were pooled using a Bayesian bivariate random-effects model.RESULTS: Twenty-five studies, mostly with moderate to high risk of bias and a mean follow-up time ranging from 1 to 5 years were included. TST (10–15 mm) tended to have lower sensitivity and higher specificity than QuantiFERON® Gold In-Tube, T-SPOT®.TB and TST (5 mm). The evidence did not indicate that any test outperformed the others due to wide and overlapping 95% credible intervals.CONCLUSION: The evidence following individuals who had undergone testing for LTBI and had progressed to clinical TB is sparse. We did not find that IGRAs were superior to TST or vice versa; however, as our findings are based on a small number of studies with methodological limitations and great uncertainty around the pooled estimates, the results should be interpreted with caution.

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Phang Romero Casas ◽  
Marrissa Martyn-St James ◽  
Jean Hamilton ◽  
Daniel S Marinho ◽  
Rodolfo Castro ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the test performance including sensitivity and specificity of rapid immunochromatographic syphilis (ICS) point-of-care (POC) tests at antenatal clinics compared with reference standard tests (non-treponemal (TP) and TP tests) for active syphilis in pregnant women.MethodsFive electronic databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, CRD, Cochrane Library and LILACS) to March 2016 for diagnostic accuracy studies of ICS test and standard reference tests for syphilis in pregnant women. Methodological quality was assessed using QUADAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies). A bivariate meta-analysis was undertaken to generate pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters. Results were presented using a coupled forest plot of sensitivity and specificity and a scatter plot.ResultsThe methodological quality of the five included studies with regards to risk of bias and applicability concern judgements was either low or unclear. One study was judged as high risk of bias for patient selection due to exclusion of pregnant women with a previous history of syphilis, and one study was judged at high risk of bias for study flow and timing as not all patients were included in the analysis. Five studies contributed to the meta-analysis, providing a pooled sensitivity and specificity for ICS of 0.85 (95% CrI: 0.73 to 0.92) and 0.98 (95% CrI: 0.95 to 0.99), respectively.ConclusionsThis review and meta-analysis observed that rapid ICS POC tests have a high sensitivity and specificity when performed in pregnant women at antenatal clinics. However, the methodological quality of the existing evidence base should be taken into consideration when interpreting these results.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016036335.


2020 ◽  
pp. sextrans-2020-054706
Author(s):  
Meng Yin Wu ◽  
Hui Zi Gong ◽  
Kui Ru Hu ◽  
He-yi Zheng ◽  
Xia Wan ◽  
...  

ObjectivesCo-infection of syphilis and HIV remains hard to manage and its morbidity shows a rising tendency. Syphilis has been associated with increased risk of HIV acquisition in high-risk groups, especially in men who have sex with men (MSM). This systematic review and meta-analysis estimates the effect of syphilis infection on subsequent HIV acquisition, and assesses its difference between MSM and other high-risk populations.MethodsFive electronic databases were searched for literature published to 21 September 2019 without language restrictions. Longitudinal studies that enrolled key populations to compare the incidence of HIV with and without syphilis exposure were included. We used a random-effects model to estimate the effect of syphilis infection on HIV acquisition among high-risk populations, which include MSM, sex workers, serodiscordant couples, people who inject drugs and attendees of STD clinics.ResultsA total of 17 cohorts and 5 case-control studies involving 65 232 participants were included. HIV incidence showed a two-time increase after syphilis exposure, compared with a control group (relative risk (RR) 2.67 (95% CI 2.05 to 3.47); p<0.05 for prevalence; RR 3.21 (95% CI 2.26 to 4.57); p=0.419 for incidence). No significant differences were observed between MSM and other high-risk groups in syphilis infection prevalence (RR 2.60 (95% CI 1.78 to 3.80); p<0.05 vs RR, 2.98 (95% CI 2.15 to 4.14); p<0.05; ratio of relative risk 0.76 (95% CI 0.49 to 1.17)).ConclusionsSyphilis infection increases the risk of HIV acquisition in high-risk populations. There is no evidence to suggest MSM are at greater risk than other high-risk populations. Prompt diagnosis, timely treatment, preventive interventions against syphilis infection would be a worthwhile investment for reducing HIV incidence. Strategies to combat stigma and discrimination targeted at MSM are pragmatically needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (18) ◽  
pp. 4296-4311
Author(s):  
Parth Patel ◽  
Payal Patel ◽  
Meha Bhatt ◽  
Cody Braun ◽  
Housne Begum ◽  
...  

Abstract Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common, potentially life-threatening yet treatable condition. Prompt diagnosis and expeditious therapeutic intervention is of paramount importance for optimal patient management. Our objective was to systematically review the accuracy of D-dimer assay, compression ultrasonography (CUS), computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), and ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scanning for the diagnosis of suspected first and recurrent PE. We searched Cochrane Central, MEDLINE, and EMBASE for eligible studies, reference lists of relevant reviews, registered trials, and relevant conference proceedings. 2 investigators screened and abstracted data. Risk of bias was assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 and certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework. We pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity. The review included 61 studies. The pooled estimates for D-dimer sensitivity and specificity were 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96-0.98) and 0.41 (95% CI, 0.36-0.46) respectively, whereas CTPA sensitivity and specificity were 0.94 (95% CI, 0.89-0.97) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.97-0.99), respectively, and CUS sensitivity and specificity were 0.49 (95% CI, 0.31-0.66) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.95-0.98), respectively. Three variations of pooled estimates for sensitivity and specificity of V/Q scan were carried out, based on interpretation of test results. D-dimer had the highest sensitivity when compared with imaging. CTPA and V/Q scans (high probability scan as a positive and low/non-diagnostic/normal scan as negative) both had the highest specificity. This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO as CRD42018084669.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e027428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karoline Freeman ◽  
Brian H Willis ◽  
Hannah Fraser ◽  
Sian Taylor-Phillips ◽  
Aileen Clarke

ObjectiveTest accuracy of faecal calprotectin (FC) testing in primary care is inconclusive. We aimed to assess the test accuracy of FC testing in primary care and compare it to secondary care estimates for the detection of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).MethodsSystematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy using a bivariate random effects model. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science until 31 May 2017 and included studies from auto alerts up until 31 January 2018. Eligible studies measured FC levels in stool samples to detect IBD in adult patients with chronic (at least 6–8 weeks) abdominal symptoms in primary or secondary care. Risk of bias and applicability were assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 criteria. We followed the protocol registered as PROSPERO CRD 42012003287.Results38 out of 2168 studies were eligible including five from primary care. Comparison of test accuracy by setting was precluded by extensive heterogeneity. Overall, summary estimates of sensitivity and specificity were not recorded. At a threshold of 50 µg/g, sensitivity from separate meta-analysis of four assay types ranged from 0.85 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.92) to 0.94 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.90) and specificity from 0.67 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.76) to 0.88 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.94). Across three different definitions of disease, sensitivity ranged from 0.80 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.84) to 0.97 (95% CI 0.91 to 0.99) and specificity from 0.67 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.75) to 0.76 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.84). Sensitivity appears to be lower in primary care and is further reduced at a revised threshold of 100 µg/g.ConclusionsConclusive estimates of sensitivity and specificity of FC testing in primary care for the detection of IBD are still missing. There is insufficient evidence in the published literature to support the decision to introduce FC testing in primary care. Studies evaluating FC testing in an appropriate primary care setting are needed.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e022810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Zhu ◽  
Jason Chui ◽  
Ian Herrick ◽  
Janet Martin

ObjectivesWe aim to evaluate the diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) of intraoperative evoked potential (EP) monitoring to detect cerebral injury during clipping of cerebral aneurysms.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesMajor electronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS.Eligibility criteriaWe included studies that reported the DTA of intraoperative EP monitoring during intracranial aneurysm clipping procedures in adult patients.Data extraction and synthesisAfter quality assessment, we performed a meta-analysis using the bivariate random effects model, and calculated the possible range of DTA point estimates using a new best-case/worst-case scenario approach to quantify the impact of rescue intervention on DTA.ResultsA total of 35 studies involving 4011 patients were included. The quality of the primary studies was modest and the heterogeneity across studies was high. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for predicting postoperative neurological deficits for the somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring was 59% (95% CI: 39% to 76%; I2: 76%) and 86% (95% CI: 77% to 92%; I2: 94%), for motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring was 81% (95% CI: 58% to 93%; I2: 54%) and 90% (95% CI: 86% to 93%; I2: 81%), and for combined SSEP and MEP monitoring was 92% (95% CI: 62% to 100%) and 88% (95% CI: 83% to 93%). The best-case/worst-case range for the pooled point estimates for sensitivity and specificity for SSEP was 50%–63% and 81%–100%, and for MEP was 59%–74% and 93%–100%, and for combined SSEP and MEP was 89%–94% and 83%–100%.ConclusionsDue to the modest quality and high heterogeneity of the existing primary studies, it is not possible to confidently support or refute the diagnostic value of EP monitoring in cerebral aneurysm clipping surgery. However, combined SSEP and MEP appears to provide the best DTA for predicting postoperative stroke. Contrary to popular assertion, the modest sensitivity of SSEP monitoring is not explained by the use of rescue intervention.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42015016884.


Author(s):  
Davi de Sá Cavalcante ◽  
Paulo Goberlânio de Barros Silva ◽  
Francisco Samuel Rodrigues Carvalho ◽  
Ana Rosa Pinto Quidute ◽  
Lúcio Mitsuo Kurita ◽  
...  

Objective: To summarize the evidence on the feasibility of maxillomandibular imaging exams-related fractal dimension (FD) in screening patients with osteoporosis. Methods: This registered systematic review followed the PRISMA-DTA statement. High sensitivity search strategies were developed for six primary databases and grey literature. QUADAS-2 items evaluated the risk of bias, and the GRADE approach assessed the evidence certainty. Results: From 1,034 records initially identified through database searching, four studies were included (total sample of 747 patients [osteoporosis, 136; control group, 611]). The meta-analysis showed that the overall sensitivity and specificity of the FD were 86.17 and 72.68%, respectively. In general, all studies showed low RoB and applicability concern. The certainty of the evidence was very low to moderate. Conclusions: This systematic review showed that the jaw-related FD presented sensitivity and specificity values higher than 70%, and its sensitivity in osteoporosis screening was a better parameter than specificity.


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