SynthesisThorax2023
Mediators of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD): systematic review and meta-analyses.
Synthesis in Thorax, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surfactant proteins levels in asthmatic patients and their correlation with severity of asthma: a systematic review.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Pooled it
- High levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 associate with a 'vasculopathic' phenotype in systemic sclerosis with higher mortality.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic Profiling Identifies Disease-Specific miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Networks in Systemic Sclerosis.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- Skin Transcriptomics Reveal Shared Molecular Mechanisms for Skin and Lung Involvement in Systemic Sclerosis.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Serum CCL18 May Reflect Multiorgan Involvement with Poor Outcome in Systemic Sclerosis.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- The immune landscape of systemic sclerosis: from pathogenic mechanisms to precision therapeutic breakthroughs.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Biomarker-based clustering identifies distinct pulmonary function trajectories in early systemic sclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Observational
- Article
- Preliminary nomogram model for predicting irreversible organ damage of patients with systemic sclerosis.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Identifying KL-6-Associated Immune Cell Signatures and Key Genes in Emphysematous COPD.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- A Practical Multidisciplinary Approach to Identifying Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases: A Clinician's Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
- Alveolar epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in scleroderma interstitial lung disease: Technical challenges, available evidence and therapeutic perspectives.Journal of scleroderma and related disorders · 2024Review
- Respiratory tract lining fluid copper content contributes to pulmonary oxidative stress in patients with systemic sclerosis.Wellcome open research · 2024Article
- Article
- Acute Exacerbations of Interstitial Lung Diseases: Focus on Biomarkers.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Editorial: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung regeneration, repair, and fibrosis.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Article
- Biomarkers in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis.Journal of inflammation research · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is rare, poorly understood, with heterogeneous characteristics resulting in difficult diagnosis. We aimed to systematically review evidence of soluble markers in peripheral blood or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as biomarkers in SSc-ILD.
methodFive databases were screened for observational or interventional, peer-reviewed studies in adults published between January 2000 and September 2021 that assessed levels of biomarkers in peripheral blood or BALF of SSc-ILD patients compared with healthy controls. Qualitative assessment was performed using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists. Standardised mean difference (SMD) in biomarkers were combined in random-effects meta-analyses where multiple independent studies reported quantitative data.
results768 published studies were identified; 38 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analyses representing three biomarkers: KL6, SP-D and IL-8. Greater IL-8 levels were associated with SSc-ILD in both peripheral blood and BALF, overall SMD 0.88 (95% CI 0.61 to 1.15; I
conclusionWe provide robust evidence that KL-6, SP-D and IL-8 have the potential to serve as reliable biomarkers in blood/BALF for supporting the diagnosis of SSc-ILD. However, while several other biomarkers have been proposed, the evidence of their independent value in diagnosis and prognosis is currently lacking and needs further investigation. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021282452.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.