SynthesisAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2022
Diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin and interleukin-6 for postoperative infection in major gastrointestinal surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Procalcitonin for the diagnosis of postoperative bacterial infection after adult cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Critical care (London, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Diagnostic efficacy of serum presepsin for postoperative infectious complications: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Pooled it
- Intensive care infection score outperforms inflammatory biomarkers in detecting infection in critically ill patients.Infection · 2026Article
- Early postoperative serum IL-6 may contribute to risk stratification for pancreas-specific complications after pancreatic resection.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2026Article
- Prospective Evaluation of Blood-based and Microbiological Early Indicators of In-hospital Infectious Complications After Open Cystectomy.European urology open science · 2026Article
- Complementary Roles of PCT, CRP, WBC, and ΔWBC in Early Leak Detection After Bariatric Surgery: A Retrospective Pilot Study.Obesity surgery · 2025Article
- Value of Early Kinetics of Procalcitonin with Point-of-Care Test to Predict Postoperative Abscess Following Non-Complicated Acute Appendicitis: A Pilot Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Procalcitonin as a biomarker for postoperative pneumonia: a study on dynamics following cardiopulmonary bypass in adults.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Article
- Observational
- Procalcitonin and interleukin- 6 in predicting prognosis of sepsis patients with cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Evaluation of potential markers of early infection in patients undergoing elective colorectal malignancy surgery.The Journal of international medical research · 2025Article
- Integrating serological and drainage fluid indicators: developing two predictive models for early detection of postoperative intra-abdominal infections in gastrointestinal tumor patients.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Lysophosphatidic acid: a promising biomarker for diagnosing sepsis and predicting in-hospital mortality.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Study of the Role of C-reactive Protein/Procalcitonin Ratio as a Prognostic Tool in ICU Patients with Sepsis: A Prospective Observational Study.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2024Article
- recAP administration ameliorates sepsis outcomes through modulation of gut and liver inflammation.Biochemical and biophysical research communications · 2024Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of interleukin-6 in multiple diseases: An umbrella review of meta-analyses.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Interleukin-6 on postoperative day three as an early predictor of infections following laparoscopic gastric cancer resection.BMC surgery · 2024Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWe aim to assess the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as diagnostic biomarkers for postoperative infection/sepsis following major abdominal surgery. Postoperative infection is an important cause for morbidity and mortality in major surgery. Early diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment improves outcomes, and high-performing biomarkers could guide clinical decision making.
methodsA systematic database search was conducted for studies reporting diagnostic performance of biomarkers (including PCT and IL-6) for infection/sepsis following major abdominal surgery. Studies were assessed for reporting of diagnostic accuracy, relevance and quality. Data were extracted for meta-analysis.
resultsTen studies with 1,611 participants reported the diagnostic accuracy of PCT, with pooled sensitivity, specificity and summary receiver operator curve of 72% (95% CI 66-78), 62% (95% CI 59-64) and 0.766, respectively. Four studies with 175 participants reported the diagnostic accuracy of IL-6, with pooled sensitivity, specificity and summary receiver operator curve of 84% (95% CI 72-92), 76% (95% CI 68-84) and 0.878, respectively There was variability in the timing of sampling and cut-off values and significant heterogeneity and inconsistency between studies (
conclusionsPCT performs only moderately well as a diagnostic test for postoperative infection/sepsis in major abdominal surgery, demonstrating limited sensitivity and specificity. Heterogeneity between studies is a limitation of the meta-analysis. There is an ongoing need for a rapid, accurate biomarker for postoperative infection or sepsis.
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