Annals of emergency medicine
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We determine the usefulness of the procalcitonin for early identification of young children at risk for severe bacterial infection among those presenting with fever without source. ⋯ Procalcitonin performs better than leukocyte count and C-reactive protein for detecting serious bacterial infection among children with fever without source. Considering the poor pooled positive likelihood ratio and acceptable pooled negative likelihood ratio, procalcitonin is better for ruling out serious bacterial infection than for ruling it in. Existing studies do not define how best to combine procalcitonin with other clinical information.
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Review Meta Analysis
Can broad-range 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene polymerase chain reactions improve the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
We aim to evaluate the accuracy of the broad-range 16S polymerase chain reaction test in the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis through a systematic review and meta-analysis. ⋯ This meta-analysis supports the role of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid polymerase chain reaction as a diagnostic tool in bacterial meningitis. With further refinements in technology, the polymerase chain reaction test has the potential to become a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis in the emergency department.
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Review Meta Analysis
Diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary embolism rule-out criteria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to define the diagnostic performance of pulmonary embolism rule-out criteria (PERC) in deferring the need for D-dimer testing to rule out pulmonary embolism in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The existing literature suggests consistently high sensitivity and low but acceptable specificity of the PERC to rule out pulmonary embolism in patients with low pretest probability.