SynthesisEuropean radiology2018
Ultrasonography in diagnosing clinically occult groin hernia: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European radiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Preoperative Diagnosis of Amyand Hernia in the Emergency Department with Point-of-care Ultrasound: A Case Report.Clinical practice and cases in emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Spigelian-Cryptorchidism Syndrome: A Literature Review and Case Report of a Rare Clinical Entity.Cureus · 2025Article
- Comparison of patient characteristics and treatment approaches for femoral and inguinal hernias utilizing dynamic ultrasound at a single institution.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2023Article
- Diagnostic performance of CT with Valsalva maneuver for the diagnosis and characterization of inguinal hernias.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2023Article
- The Shouldice Method: an expert's consensus.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2023Article
- Positive predictive value of ultrasound in correctly identifying an inguinal hernia: a single-centered retrospective pilot study.Insights into imaging · 2022Article
- Should surgeons repair symptomatic, clinically occult, radiologically evident, inguinal hernias? A case-control study of patient-reported outcomes.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2021Article
- Results at 3-year follow-up of totally extraperitoneal (TEP) hernia surgery with long-term resorbable mesh.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2020Article
- Investigating the Sonodynamic-Radiosensitivity Effect of Gold Nanoparticles on HeLa Cervical Cancer Cells.Journal of Korean medical science · 2019Article
- Groin Hernias in Women-A Review of the Literature.Frontiers in surgery · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectivesTo provide an updated systematic review on the performance of ultrasonography (US) in diagnosing clinically occult groin hernia.
methodsA systematic search was performed in MEDLINE and Embase. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed. Accuracy data of US in detecting clinically occult groin hernia were extracted. Positive predictive value (PPV) was pooled with a random effects model. For studies investigating the performance of US in hernia type classification (inguinal vs femoral), correctly classified proportion was assessed.
resultsSixteen studies were included. In the two studies without verification bias, sensitivities were 29.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 15.1-47.5%] and 90.9% (95% CI, 70.8-98.9%); specificities were 90.0% (95% CI, 80.5-95.9%) and 90.6% (95% CI, 83.0-95.6%). Verification bias or a variation of it (i.e. study limited to only subjects with definitive proof of disease status) was present in all other studies. Sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) were not pooled. PPV ranged from 58.8 to 100%. Pooled PPV, based on data from ten studies with low risk of bias and no applicability concerns with respect to patient selection, was 85.6% (95% CI, 76.5-92.7%). Proportion of correctly classified hernias, based on data from four studies, ranged between 94.4% and 99.1%.
conclusionsSensitivity, specificity and NPV of US in detecting clinically occult groin hernia cannot reliably be determined based on current evidence. Further studies are necessary. Accuracy may strongly depend on the examiner's skills. PPV is high. Inguinal and femoral hernias can reliably be differentiated by US. KEY POINTS: • Sensitivity, specificity and NPV of ultrasound in detecting clinically occult groin hernia cannot reliably be determined based on current evidence. • Accuracy may strongly depend on the examiner's skills. • PPV of US in detection of clinically occult groin hernia is high [pooled PPV of 85.6% (95% confidence interval, 76.5-92.7%)]. • US has very high performance in correctly differentiating between clinically occult inguinal and femoral hernia (correctness of 94.4- 99.1%).
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