Transcranial Sonography as a Diagnostic Tool for Depressive Disorders

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Psychiatry
• Diagnostic Accuracy

Background:

• Transcranial sonography (TCS) is a noninvasive neuroimaging technique.
• Reduced echogenicity of the brainstem raphe (BR) is observed in patients with depression.
• This meta-analysis evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of TCS for depression based on DSM-IV criteria.

Approach:

• A systematic literature search was performed across major databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science) from inception to December 2021.
• Study quality was assessed using QUADAS-2, and heterogeneity was analyzed.
• Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using a summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve.

Key Points:

• The meta-analysis included 12 studies with 809 patients.
• Pooled sensitivity was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.61-0.71) and specificity was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.80-0.87).
• The area under the SROC curve (AUC) was 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83-0.89), indicating high diagnostic performance.

Conclusions:

• Transcranial sonography (TCS) demonstrates high potential and efficacy in diagnosing depression.
• TCS may serve as a valuable clinical tool for depression assessment.
• No significant sources of heterogeneity were identified in meta-regression and subgroup analyses.