Table 2 Summary of subgroup analysis of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of infection
Subgroup | Number of studies | Pooled sensitivity (95% CI) | Heterogeneity I2(%) | Subgroup difference P value | Pooled specificity (95% CI) | Heterogeneity I2(%) | Subgroup difference P value | AUC (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sample size | ||||||||
Number of patients \( \ge \) 131 | 4 | 0.69(0.58,0.81) | 92 | 0.19 | 0.76(0.73,0.79) | 79 | < 0.01* | 0.77(0.63,1.00) |
Number of patients \( <\) 131 | 3 | 0.44(0.27,0.62) | 84 | 0.89(0.80,0.97) | 0 | 0.73(0.60,0.94) | ||
Reference standard | ||||||||
BSI | 3 | 0.65(0.42,0.87) | 22 | 0.89 | 0.77(0.66,0.88) | 24 | 0.14 | 0.76(0.59,1.00) |
Non-BSI | 4 | 0.57(0.38,0.77) | 96 | 0.79(0.67,0.91) | 81 | 0.74(0.65,0.86) | ||
Study design | ||||||||
Prospective | 2 | 0.32(0.20,0.48) | 0 | < 0.01* | 0.90(0.72,0.97) | 26 | 0.09 | 0.67 |
Retrospective | 5 | 0.71(0.62,0.78) | 89 | 0.76(0.73,0.79) | 76 | 0.79(0.72,0.87) | ||
Region | ||||||||
Asia | 3 | 0.78(0.66,0.91) | 41 | 0.22 | 0.80(0.69,0.91) | 57 | 0.18 | 0.89(0.87,0.93) |
Non-Asia | 4 | 0.51(0.36,0.66) | 91 | 0.79(0.68,0.90) | 74 | 0.71(0.65,0.80) | ||
Prevalence | ||||||||
\( \ge \) 52.9% | 4 | 0.57(0.38,0.77) | 96 | 0.52 | 0.79(0.67,0.91) | 81 | 0.28 | 0.74(0.65,0.86) |
\( <\) 52.9% | 3 | 0.65(0.42,0.87) | 22 | 0.77(0.66,0.88) | 24 | 0.76(0.59,1.00) | ||
Cutoff value (mg/L) | ||||||||
\( \ge \) 0.5 | 5 | 0.52(0.39,0.65) | 88 | < 0.01* | 0.77(0.68,0.85) | 65 | 0.13 | 0.71(0.65,0.79) |
\( <\) 0.5 | 2 | 0.77(0.58,0.89) | 0 | 0.83(0.69,0.91) | 0 | 0.88(0.64,1.00) | ||