Serologic Intestinal-Fatty Acid Binding Protein in Necrotizing Enterocolitis Diagnosis: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract EN

Background.

Previous studies showed that intestinal-fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) may be a valid and promising serologic biomarker for early diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Objective.

To investigate the early diagnostic value of serologic I-FABP in NEC for the premature neonates.

Methods.

All major databases were searched from January 1, 1990, to May 1, 2015.

We used Meta-Disc 1.4 and Revman5.0 software to calculate the diagnostic accuracy.

Results.

Seven studies with 444 subjects were identified.

The pooled sensitivity of I-FABP was 0.67 for NEC I, 0.74 for NEC II, and 0.83 for NEC III, and the pooled specificity was 0.84, respectively, which showed a moderate diagnostic accuracy.

The area under curve (AUC) for each stage was 0.75 (Q⁎=0.69), 0.82 (Q⁎=0.76), and 0.91 (Q⁎=0.84).

The diagnostic threshold analysis showed no significant difference in threshold effect.

The metaregression showed that the cut-off value has the largest effect on heterogeneity.

The funnel plots indicated the existence of publication bias.

Conclusion.

I-FABP is a valid serologic biomarker for early diagnosis in NEC for the premature neonates with a moderate accuracy.