Title:The Role of Biomarkers to Diagnose Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis. A Meta-analysis
Volume: 12
Issue: 4
Author(s): Suzanne Aura Victoria van Asten, Edgar Joseph Geradus Peters, Yin Xi and Lawrence Alfred Lavery
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Diabetic foot, osteomyelitis, biomarkers, diabetic foot infection, diagnosis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
c-reactive protein, procalcitonin.
Abstract: Purpose: To systematically review the value of serum inflammatory markers to diagnose
diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO). Study selection: Studies to diagnose DFO using biomarkers erythrocyte
sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukins (IL-2,
IL-6, IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF) were retrieved from EMBASE and PubMed with
no language restrictions through July 2014. Data extraction: We summarized clinical characteristics
of the studies and used bivariate random effects models and summary receiver operating characteristic
curves to estimate sensitivity and specificity for each marker. Data synthesis: A total of 8 qualifying
studies were included in our meta-analysis. Bivariate pooled sensitivity and specificity of the 6
studies examining ESR were 0.81 (95% CI 0.71-0.88) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.75-0.96) respectively.
Due to the paucity of data, models did not converge for the other biomarkers. Conclusions: From the
inflammatory markers, ESR appears to be the best laboratory test to identify patients with DFO.
