Chang, Shy-ShinHsieh, Wen-HanLiu, Ting-ShouLee, Si-HueiWang, Chih-HungChou, Hao-ChangYeo, Yee HuiTseng, Ching-PingLee, Chien-Chang2014-02-132013Chang, Shy-Shin, Wen-Han Hsieh, Ting-Shou Liu, Si-Huei Lee, Chih-Hung Wang, Hao-Chang Chou, Yee Hui Yeo, Ching-Ping Tseng, and Chien-Chang Lee. 2013. “Multiplex PCR System for Rapid Detection of Pathogens in Patients with Presumed Sepsis – A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.” PLoS ONE 8 (5): e62323. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062323.1932-6203http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11708585Background: Blood culture is viewed as the golden standard for the diagnosis of sepsis but suffers from low sensitivity and long turnaround time. LightCycler SeptiFast (LC-SF) is a real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction test able to detect 25 common pathogens responsible for bloodstream infections within hours. We aim to assess the accuracy of LC-SF by systematically reviewing the published studies. Method Related literature on Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases was searched up to October 2012 for studies utilizing LC-SF to diagnose suspected sepsis and that provided sufficient data to construct two-by-two tables. Results: A total of 34 studies enrolling 6012 patients of suspected sepsis were included. The overall sensitivity and specificity for LC-SF to detect bacteremia or fungemia was 0·75 (95% CI: 0·65–0·83) and 0·92 (95%CI:0·90–0·95), respectively. LC-SF had a high positive likelihood ratio (10·10) and a moderate negative likelihood ratio (0·27). Specifically, LC-SF had a sensitivity of 0·80 (95%CI: 0·70–0·88) and a specificity of 0·95(95%CI: 0·93–0·97) for the bacteremia outcome, and a sensitivity of 0·61 (95%CI: 0·48–0·72) and a specificity of 0·99 (95%CI: 0·99–0·99) for the fungemia outcome. High heterogeneity was found in the bacteremia outcome subgroup but not in the fungemia outcome subgroup. Conclusion: LC-SF is of high rule-in value for early detection of septic patients. In a population with low pretest probability, LC-SF test can still provide valuable information for ruling out bacteremia or fungemia.en-USBiologyBiotechnologyBioengineeringMedical DevicesPopulation BiologyEpidemiologyInfectious Disease EpidemiologyEngineeringMedicineClinical Research DesignMeta-AnalysesSystematic ReviewsCritical Care and Emergency MedicineSepsisDrugs and DevicesJournal Article2014-02-1310.1371/journal.pone.0062323