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Updated: Mar 29, 2026
Accurate and Simple Measurement of the Pro-inflammatory Cytokine IL-1β using a Whole Blood Stimulation Assay
Published on: March 1, 2011
Accuracy of serum interleukin (IL)-6 in sepsis diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Tieying Hou1, Dehong Huang2, Rong Zeng3
1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences NO. 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China.
Objective:
To systematic review and estimate the accuracy of Interleukin 6 assay in the diagnosis of sepsis by meta-analysis.
Methods:
With the aim to confirm this correlation, this paper performed a meta-analysis of 6 studies and the Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of each study were calculated and the pooled sensitivity was calculate using Random Effects Model and Summary receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed.
Results:
The pooled sensitivity for the diagnosis of sepsis was 80% (95% CI, 77% to 83%) and the specificity of 85% (95% CI, 81% to 88%). For sepsis versus health or infection, the area under the curve was 0.868. In neonate subgroup, IL-6 had a pooled sensitivity of 77.0% (95% CI, 73.0% to 81.0%) and specificity of 91.0% (95% CI, 86.0% to 94.0%) for sepsis diagnosis. In adult, IL-6 had a pooled sensitivity of 85.0% (95% CI, 80.0% to 88.0%) and specificity of 62.0% (95% CI, 55.0% to 68.0%) to identify sepsis. The AUC was 81.0%, and Q was 0.74.
Conclusions:
IL6 is a highly accurate diagnostic modality for the identification of sepsis, with promise for integration into routine imaging protocols for thyroid nodules.
