Performance of Leukocyte Esterase Reagent Strips in the Detection of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Cirrhotic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Kishan P. Patel, John P. Gallagher, Parker M. Korbitz, Cynthia Schmidt, Thammasin Ingviya, Tomoki Sempokuya, Wuttiporn Manatsathit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a bacterial infection associated with a high mortality rate in cirrhotic patients. The gold standard for the detection of SBP is a manual cell count from ascitic fluid; however, alternative screening methods are under investigation. In particular, leukocyte esterase reagent strips (LERS) has been studied as an alternative method to detect SBP with a low cost and instant turnaround time. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the performance of LERS in the detection of SBP. Methods: A literature search was performed for studies evaluating LERS for the detection of SBP on PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, and clinical trial registries. Summary sensitivity, specificity, log diagnostic odds ratio (LDOR), and the area under the summary receiver operating curve (AUC) were calculated according to the respective manufacturer. Results: In total, 31 studies were evaluated. The summary sensitivity of Aution Sticks, Combur, Multistix, Periscreen reagent strips was 0.962 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.926, 0.998), 0.892 (95% CI 0.846, 0.938), 0.806 (95% CI 0.738, 0.874), and 0.939 (95% CI 0.900, 0.979), respectively. The summary specificity of Aution Sticks, Combur, Multistix, and Periscreen reagent strips was 0.940 (95% CI 0.904, 0.976), 0.922 (95% CI 0.874, 0.970), 0.974 (95% CI 0.962, 0.985), and 0.672 (95% CI 0.381, 0.963), respectively. Conclusion: LERS appears to have a notable overall performance for the detection of SBP. LERS appeared to be an acceptable alternative to diagnose SBP in facilities without ability to perform cell count. However, there were significant differences in performance between each manufacturer.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)519-532
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2022

Keywords

  • ascites
  • cirrhosis
  • leukocyte esterase
  • reagent strips
  • spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hepatology

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