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.