The prognostic value of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio in patients with sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AbstractObjective This study aimed to determine whether the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) can serve as a prognostic marker in patients with sepsis.Methods Chinese and English databases were searched to retrieve the included literature. The pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the bivariate model. Moreover, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI were calculated using the random effect model.Results Nine articles comprising 3224 patients with sepsis were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled SEN was 0.73 (95% CI 0.65–0.80), the pooled SPE was 0.78 (95% CI 0.69–0.84), the pooled PLR was 3.29 (95% CI 2.15–5.03), the pooled NLR was 0.35 (95% CI 0.24–0.49), and the pooled DOR was 9.50 (95% CI 4.38–20.59). The AUC under the SROC was 0.82 (95% CI 0.78–0.85) for the prognostic meta-analysis. The pooled HR was 1.10 (95% CI 1.02–1.18).Conclusions This meta-analysis suggests that a high CAR level is associated with increased mortality and a poor prognosis

Comparison of Actual Performance in the Flow and Fraction of Inspired O2 among Different High-Flow Nasal Cannula Devices: A Bench Study

Background. High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy has been recommended for use in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with acute respiratory failure and many other clinical conditions. HFNC devices produced by different manufacturers may have varied performance. Whether there is a difference in these devices and the extent of the differences in performance remain unknown. Methods. Four HFNC devices (AIRVO 2, TNI softFlow 50, HUMID-BH, and OH-70C) and a ventilator with an HFNC module (bellavista 1000) were evaluated. The flow was set at 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, and 80 L/min, and the FiO2 was set at 21%, 26%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%. Then, one side of the cannulas was clipped to simulate the compression, bending, or blocking of the nasal cannulas. The flow and FiO2 of the delivered gas were recorded and compared among settings and devices. Results. The actual-flow and actual-FiO2 delivered by different settings and devices varied. AIRVO 2 had superior performance in flow and FiO2 accuracy. bellavista 1000 and OH-70C had good performance in the accuracy of actual-flows and actual-FiO2, respectively. bellavista 1000 and HUMID-BH had a larger flow range from 10 to 80 L/min, but only bellavista 1000 could provide a stable flow with an excessive resistance up to 60 L/min. TNI softFlow 50 had the best flow compensation and could provide sufficient flow with excessive resistance at 20–50 L/min. Conclusions. The variation in flow, FiO2 settings, and devices could influence the actual-flow and actual-FiO2 delivered. AIRVO 2 and OH-70C showed better FiO2 accuracy. TNI softFlow 50, bellavista 1000, and HUMID-BH could lower the risk of insufficient flow support due to accidental compression or blocking of the cannulas. In addition, ventilators with HFNC modules provided comparable flow and FiO2 and could be an alternative to standalone HFNC devices

The prognostic value of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio in patients with sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aimed to determine whether the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) can serve as a prognostic marker in patients with sepsis. Chinese and English databases were searched to retrieve the included literature. The pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the bivariate model. Moreover, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI were calculated using the random effect model. Nine articles comprising 3224 patients with sepsis were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled SEN was 0.73 (95% CI 0.65–0.80), the pooled SPE was 0.78 (95% CI 0.69–0.84), the pooled PLR was 3.29 (95% CI 2.15–5.03), the pooled NLR was 0.35 (95% CI 0.24–0.49), and the pooled DOR was 9.50 (95% CI 4.38–20.59). The AUC under the SROC was 0.82 (95% CI 0.78–0.85) for the prognostic meta-analysis. The pooled HR was 1.10 (95% CI 1.02–1.18). This meta-analysis suggests that a high CAR level is associated with increased mortality and a poor prognosis.</p

Efficacy and safety of antagonists for chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells in adult patients with asthma: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Abstract Background Chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2) antagonists are novel agents for asthma but with controversial efficacies in clinical trials. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the roles of CRTH2 antagonists in asthma. Methods We searched in major databases for RCTs comparing CRTH2 antagonists with placebo in asthma. Fixed- or random-effects model was performed to calculate mean differences (MD), risk ratio (RR) or risk difference (RD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results A total of 14 trails with 4671 participants were included in our final analysis. Instead of add-on treatment of CRTH2 antagonists to corticosteroids, CRTH2 antagonist monotherapy significantly improved pre-bronchodilator FEV1 (MD = 0.09, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.15, P = 0.0005), FEV1% predicted (MD = 3.65, 95% CI 1.15 to 6.14, P = 0.004), and AQLQ (MD = 0.25, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.41, P = 0.002), and reduced asthma exacerbations (RR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.85, P = 0.01). Rescue use of SABA was significantly decreased in both CRTH2 antagonist monotherapy (MD = − 0.04, 95% CI -0.05 to − 0.03, P < 0.00001) and as add-on to corticosteroids (MD = − 0.78, 95% CI -1.47 to − 0.09, P = 0.03). Adverse events were similar between the intervention and placebo groups. Conclusions CRTH2 antagonist monotherapy can safely improve lung function and quality of life, and reduce asthma exacerbations and SABA use in asthmatics

Performance of interferon-γ release assay in the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis: a meta-analysis

Background The diagnostic values of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) in tuberculosis (TB) vary a lot with different site of infections, with especially higher sensitivities in chronic forms of TB such as tuberculosis of the lymph node. We conducted a meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the overall accuracy of diagnostic IGRA for tuberculous lymphadenitis. Methods Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Wanfang and CNKI databases up to February 17, 2017 were searched to identify published studies. The study quality was evaluated using the QUADAS-2 checklist. The pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters were generated using a bivariate random-effects model and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were used to summarize global performance. Results A total of ten qualified studies, performed in Korea or China, including 1,084 patients, were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The pooled estimates of diagnostic accuracy were as follows: sensitivity, 0.89 (95% CI [0.85–0.92]); specificity, 0.81 (95% CI [0.77–0.83]); positive likelihood ratio (PLR), 4.25 (95% CI [2.79–6.47]); negative likelihood ratio (NLR), 0.16 (95% CI [0.12–0.22]); and area under the curve (AUC) was 0.93. According to subgroup analyses, studies conducted using QuantiFERON-TB, in Korean population and focusing on cervical lymphadenitis exhibited relative higher specificity while lower sensitivity. No evidence of publication bias was identified. Conclusions IGRA exhibits high diagnostic accuracy in tuberculous lymphadenitis. The diagnostic value of IGRA differed by different IGRA methods, ethnicity and lymphadenitis location. Our conclusion may be more applicable to population from TB prevalent areas