Accuracy of serum interleukin (IL)-6 in sepsis diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To systematic review and estimate the accuracy of Interleukin 6 assay in the diagnosis of sepsis by meta-analysis.

METHODS

With the aim to confirm this correlation, this paper performed a meta-analysis of 6 studies and the Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of each study were calculated and the pooled sensitivity was calculate using Random Effects Model and Summary receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed.

RESULTS

The pooled sensitivity for the diagnosis of sepsis was 80% (95% CI, 77% to 83%) and the specificity of 85% (95% CI, 81% to 88%). For sepsis versus health or infection, the area under the curve was 0.868. In neonate subgroup, IL-6 had a pooled sensitivity of 77.0% (95% CI, 73.0% to 81.0%) and specificity of 91.0% (95% CI, 86.0% to 94.0%) for sepsis diagnosis. In adult, IL-6 had a pooled sensitivity of 85.0% (95% CI, 80.0% to 88.0%) and specificity of 62.0% (95% CI, 55.0% to 68.0%) to identify sepsis. The AUC was 81.0%, and Q was 0.74.

CONCLUSIONS

IL6 is a highly accurate diagnostic modality for the identification of sepsis, with promise for integration into routine imaging protocols for thyroid nodules.