ObjectiveTo systematically review clinical value of des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) in the diagnostic of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC).MethodsDatabases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Medline (Ovid), CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and CBM were electronically searched to collect relevant studies on DCP in the diagnosis of PHC from inception to December 31st, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using Meta-Disc 1.4 software and RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 50 studies involving 15 099 cases were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity, pooled specificity, pooled positive likelihood ratio, pooled negative likelihood ratio, pooled diagnostic odds ratio and area under the curve of SROC were 0.69 (95%CI 0.67 to 0.70), 0.89 (95%CI 0.89 to 0.90), 7.35 (95%CI 6.08 to 8.90), 0.31 (95%CI 0.27 to 0.35), 26.63 (95%CI 20.42 to 34.73) and 0.909 9, respectively.ConclusionsSerum DCP has higher diagnostic efficacy for PHC, especially with higher specificity of diagnosis. Due to the limited quality and quantity of included studies, the above results should be validated by more studies.
Objective To investigate the role of preoperative serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in evaluating differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods A total of 551 patients with thyroid nodules met the study criteria, who got treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University between Aug. 2017 and Dec. 2017. And the patients were divided into DTC group (n=110) and benign group (n=441) according to the postoperative pathological results. The difference of serum TSH level between the 2 groups was compared and then explored the diagnostic significance of serum TSH level, thyroid imaging report and data system (TI-RADS), and serum TSH combined withTI-RADS. Results The serum TSH level was higher in the DTC group than that of the benign group (Z=5.198, P<0.05). The sensitivity of preoperative serum TSH level in the diagnosis of DTC was 80.9% (89/110), the specificity was 74.4% (328/441), and the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.660 ［95%CI was (0.602, 0.719), P<0.05］. The sensitivity of TI-RADS in the diagnosis of DTC was 82.7% (91/110), the specificity was 73.5% (324/441), and the area under the ROC curve was 0.772 ［95%CI was (0.711, 0.823), P<0.05］. The sensitivity of preoperative serum TSH combined with TI-RADS in the diagnosis of DTC was 91.8% (101/110), the specificity was 87.5% (386/441), and the area under the ROC curve was 0.831 ［95%CI was (0.786, 0.876), P<0.05］. Conclusions Preoperative serum TSH level may be a potential risk factor for the occurrence of DTC. Preoperative serum TSH level combined with TI-RADS classification can improve the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis of DTC, not only to reduce the misdiagnosis of thyroid cancer, but also can avoid excessive treatment.
Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammatory body and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in early diabetic nephropathy and its progression. Methods A total of 600 diabetic patients who were treated in Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital between January 2018 and December 2020 were selected, and the patients were divided into simple diabetes group, early diabetic nephropathy group and clinical diabetic nephropathy group. The expression of NLRP3 messenger RNA (mRNA) in fasting venous blood mononuclear cells was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and the level of S1P was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay double-antibody sandwich method. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between blood NLRP3 mRNA and S1P levels. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of blood NLRP3 mRNA and S1P levels in early diabetic nephropathy and clinical diabetic nephropathy. Results Among the 600 diabetic patients, 205 were in the simple diabetes group, 198 in the early diabetic nephropathy group and 197 in the clinical diabetic nephropathy group. There was no significant difference in age and gender among the three groups (P>0.05). The blood levels of NLRP3 mRNA and S1P in the clinical diabetic nephropathy group were higher than those in the early diabetic nephropathy group and the simple diabetes group, the blood NLRP3 mRNA and S1P levels in the early diabetic nephropathy group were higher than those in the simple diabetes group. The differences were statistically significant, and the blood NLRP3 mRNA levels of the three groups were 2.69±0.64 vs. 2.05±0.56 vs. 1.76±0.51, and the S1P levels were (1.49±0.27) vs. (1.16±0.13) vs. (0.89±0.07) μmol/L (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between blood NLRP3 mRNA and S1P level in patients (r=0.455, P<0.001). Blood NLRP3 mRNA, S1P levels and their combined detection can be used to diagnose whether diabetic patients develop early diabetic nephropathy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.645, 0.968, 0.971; P<0.001) and whether it progressed to clinical diabetic nephropathy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.825, 0.918, and 0.945; P<0.001). Conclusion Blood NLRP3 mRNA and S1P levels can be used to diagnose early diabetic nephropathy and evaluate its disease progression.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic value of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted diagnostic system for pulmonary cancer based on CT images.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, CNKI, WanFang Data and Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM) were electronically searched to collect relevant studies on AI-assisted diagnostic system in the diagnosis of pulmonary cancer from 2010 to 2019. The eligible studies were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the quality of included studies was assessed and the special information was identified. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3, Stata 12.0 and SAS 9.4 softwares. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio were pooled and the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was drawn. Meta-regression analysis was used to explore the sources of heterogeneity.ResultsTotally 18 studies were included with 4 771 patients. Random effect model was used for the analysis due to the heterogeneity among studies. The results of meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnosis odds ratio and area under the SROC curve were 0.87 [95%CI (0.84, 0.90)], 0.89 [95%CI (0.84, 0.92)], 7.70 [95%CI (5.32, 11.15)], 0.14 [95%CI (0.11, 0.19)], 53.54 [95%CI (30.68, 93.42)] and 0.94 [95%CI (0.91, 0.95)], respectively.ConclusionAI-assisted diagnostic system based on CT images has high diagnostic value for pulmonary cancer, and thus it is worthy of clinical application. However, due to the limited quality and quantity of included studies, above results should be validated by more studies.
Objective To investigate the diagnostic significance of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) combined with BRAFV600E gene detection in the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer. Methods Atotal of 140 patients with suspected cervical lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer were collected as the research objects, and all patients were given ultrasound-guided FNAC and detection of BRAFV600E gene. The significance of the diagnosis was analyzed according to the gold standard after pathological examination. Results All the 140 patients underwent surgical treatment. For FNAC, the sensitivity was 63.6% (84/132), the specificity was 100% (8/8), the accuracy was 65.7% (92/140), the positive predictive value was 100% (84/84), and the negative predictive value was 14.3% (8/56). For detection of BRAFV600E gene, the sensitivity was 84.8% (112/132), the specificity was 100% (8/8), the accuracy was 85.7% (120/140), the positive predictive value was 100% (112/112), and the negative predictive value was 28.5% (8/28). For FNAC combined with BRAFV600E gene detection, the sensitivity was 90.9% (120/132), the specificity was 100% (8/8), the accuracy was 91.4% (128/140), the positive predictive value was 100% (120/120), and the negative predictive value was 40.0% (8/20). The area under curve of receiver operating characteristic for FNAC, detection of BRAFV600E gene, and FNAC combined with BRAFV600E gene detection were 0.818, 0.924, and 0.955, respectively. Conclusion FNAC combine with BRAFV600E gene detection improves the accuracy of neck lymph node metastasis in patients with thyroid cancer, which is worthyof performed.
Objective To investigate the value of adenosine deaminase (ADA) for the diagnosis of tuberculous serous cavity fluidify. Methods The literatures on the application of ADA for the diagnosis of tuberculous serous cavity fluidify in the database including PUBMED and CNKI were reviewed. Results Studies including randomized controlled trial or meta-analysis have performed to determine the level of ADA in the effusion of tuberculous serous cavity fluidify. These studies have sufficiently proved that ADA is a specific and sensitive method for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Most of the studies have determined the optimal cut-off value of ADA in the effusion of tuberculous serous cavity fluidify. Conclusion Measurement of ADA in the effusion of tuberculous serous cavity fluidify is widely used as a fast, convenient, safe and effective adjunctive diagnostic method of tubeculosis in clinic.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of human heart-type fatty acid-binding protein for early detection of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods Studies involving this biomarker were identified from MEDLINE, EMbase, CBM and VIP (1970 to 2006). Relevant journals (1980 to 2006) were also handsearched. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the QUADAS tool. Data extraction and analysis were conducted by software of EXCEL2003 and Metadisc. Results We included 13 studies, which were heterogeneous (P=0, I2=58.5%). Five studies (n=396) included in the group assessed the test at the first three hours after chest pain onset. These studies were homogeneous (P= 0.49, I2=0). The pooled sensitivity was 0.86 ( 95%CI 0.80 to 0.91), the pooled specificity was 0.76( 95%CI 0.80 to 0.91), and the area under the curve was 0.88 (SE=0.032 3). In the group of 0 to 6 hours after chest pain onset, 10 included studies (n=1 175) were heterogeneous (P=0, I2=69%). The pooled sensitivity was 0.86 (95%CI 0.83 to 0.89), the pooled specificity was 0.79 (95%CI 0.76 to 0.82), and the area under the curve was 0.92 (SE=0.019). In the group of 6 to 12 hours after chest pain onset, 4 included studies (n=215) were homogeneous (P=0.56, I2=0). The pooled sensitivity was 0.97 (95%CI 0.91 to 0.99), the pooled specificity was 0.52 (95%CI 0.42 to 0.61), and the area under the curve was 0.810 with (SE=0.152 2). In the group of 0 to 12 hours after chest pain, 11 included studies (n=1 352) were heterogeneous (P=0.56, I2=59%). The pooled sensitivity was 0.88 (95%CI 0.84 to 0.89), the pooled specificity was 0.75 (95%CI 0.71 to 0.78), and the areas under the curve was 0.91 (SE=0.016 4). Conclusions In this systematic review, we found that H-FABP has an acceptable diagnostic accuracy within 3 hours after the onset of symptoms, and within 12 hours after the onset of symptoms, H-FABP has a high diagnostic efficacy. So H-FABP may be a new symbol for the early diagnosis of AMI.
ObjectiveTo investigate the value of esophageal activity examination under X-ray fluoroscopy and chest CT in evaluating the resectability of upper thoracic esophageal cancer.MethodsA total of 221 upper thoracic esophageal carcinoma patients underwent radical operation between 2009 and 2015 in our hospital were enrolled, including 141 males and 80 females with a median age of 59 (47-79) years. Preoperative routine esophageal activity examination under X-ray fluoroscopy and chest enhanced CT were performed to determine whether the tumor had external invasion. The results of the two methods were compared with that observed during the operation.ResultsThe number of patients with esophageal activity score 1-6 was 70, 85, 32, 29, 2 and 3, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of esophageal activity examination was 0.897 (95%CI 0.85-0.93, P<0.001), and the cut off value was >3. According to the ROC curve activity score, 4-6 points were considered as invasion, and 1-3 points were non-invasion. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and misdiagnosis rate of esophageal activity examination was 75.0%, 89.3%, 88.2%, 10.7%, respectively, and those of CT scan were 75.0%, 66.8%, 67.4%, 33.2%, respectively. Compared with CT scan, the specificity of esophageal activity examination was higher and the misdiagnosis rate was lower. Compared with the detection during the operation, 86.7% of patients with actual invasion of trachea and 85.7% of patients with actual invasion of other parts were in accordance with the esophageal activity examination results.ConclusionEsophageal activity examination under X-ray fluoroscopy can accurately predict the resectability of upper thoracic esophageal cancer, which is a useful supplement to chest CT examination, especially in the aspect of judging the relationship between lesions and the trachea.