Biomarker Thresholds for Pediatric Bacterial Infection Risk from 37 Studies

37 studies published between November 2013 and November 2023 were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The dataset, authored by Natalia Sutiman, aggregates evidence on diagnostic thresholds for C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and interleukin-6 to predict serious bacterial infections in children ≤36 months old with fever without source. It is a 377.4 KB PDF file containing the meta-analytic results.

Use Cases

• Validate diagnostic cut-off points for CRP, PCT, and IL-6 based on pooled sensitivity and specificity metrics from the meta-analysis.
• Benchmark new diagnostic models against the reported area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.84 for CRP and 0.816 for PCT.
• Inform clinical decision support systems using the identified optimal thresholds, such as a CRP cut-off of 10–20 mg/L.
• Assess study heterogeneity for biomarker performance using the reported I² statistic.

Strengths

• Analysis is based on data from 37 distinct studies, providing a synthesized evidence base.
• Reports specific pooled performance metrics with 95% confidence intervals, such as a sensitivity of 0.75 for CRP.
• Follows a registered, systematic review methodology (PROSPERO CRD42023439093).

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; data structure must be inferred from the PDF.
• The dataset is a 377.4 KB PDF, indicating a limited scope focused on aggregated meta-analysis results rather than primary patient-level data.
• Data may reflect publication and selection bias inherent to the systematic review's inclusion criteria and source databases.

Provenance

Source

Natalia Sutiman via figshare.

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Web of Science.

Time Range

Studies published between November 2013 and November 2023.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 07:41:04; freshness should be verified.