Postoperative plasma presepsin as a biomarker of postoperative infectious complications in different surgical departments: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Background High rates of postoperative infection persist after different surgical procedures, encompassing surgical site infections (SSIs), remote infections, sepsis, and septic shock. Our aim was to assess presepsin's diagnostic accuracy for postoperative infections in patients across surgical procedures. Method We conducted a comprehensive search in seven databases, extracting data independently. Using STATA 14.0, we calculated pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and Under the receiver operator curve and 95 % confidence interval (AUC, 95 % CI) as primary outcomes, with secondary outcomes involving sensitivity and specificity in subgroup analyses. Results This meta-analysis of 14 studies (1891 cases) evaluated presepsin's diagnostic value for postoperative infectious complications. Results include sensitivity of 77 % (70–83), specificity of 81 % (71–88), DOR of 14 (8–26), AUC of 84 (80–87), PLR of 4 (3–6), and NLR of 0.28 (0.21–0.38). Presepsin exhibits promise as a diagnostic tool for postoperative infections. Conclusion In summary, compared to conventional markers like C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), presepsin demonstrated superior sensitivity and specificity for detecting postoperative infectious complications across various surgical procedures.