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Review
. 2023 Jan;12(1):67-80.
doi: 10.1007/s40121-022-00730-9. Epub 2022 Nov 28.

Clinical Utility of Circulating Pentraxin 3 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Yani Ke #  1 , Kaihan Wu #  2 , Chenglu Shen  2 , Yuqing Zhu  2 , Chuchu Xu  2 , Qiushuang Li  3 , Jie Hu  4 , Shan Liu  5
Affiliations
Review

Clinical Utility of Circulating Pentraxin 3 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Yani Ke et al. Infect Dis Ther. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is involved in inflammation regulation and has a certain association with infectious diseases. However, its specific correlation with infectious diseases remains controversial. This study aimed to analyze the association between them and explore the possible role of PTX3 in the prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: Five databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Clinicaltrials.gov, and gray literature) were searched. Outcomes were expressed as a standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of included articles. Stata 12 and Meta-DiSc were applied to analyze the pooled data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to determine the prognostic value of PTX3 for mortality.

Results: Six articles met the inclusion criteria. Circulating PTX3 levels had a nonsignificant difference between intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients with COVID-19 [SMD 1.37 (-0.08, 2.81); I2 = 93.9%, P < 0.01], while the PTX3 levels in nonsurvival COVID-19 patients was significantly lower than those in survival patients [SMD -1.41 (-1.92, -0.91); I2 = 66.4%, P = 0.051]. Circulating PTX3 had good mortality prediction ability (area under ROC curve, AUC = 0.829) in COVID-19. Funnel plots and Egger's tests showed low probabilities of publication bias. Through sensitivity analysis, the results of this study were robust.

Conclusion: This study found that PTX3 was differentially expressed between survival and nonsurvival patients with COVID-19, while there was no significant difference between ICU and non-ICU patients. Meanwhile, circulating PTX3 may be a good biomarker for monitoring the prognosis of COVID-19, which may provide new ideas and directions for clinical and scientific research.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus disease; Meta-analysis; PTX3; Pentraxin 3.

Plain language summary

This study focuses on the relationship between circulating pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 can initiate the inflammatory reaction of the body, trigger a series of immune mechanisms, and cause death in severe cases. PTX3 is a soluble pattern recognition molecule (PRM) belonging to the humoral innate immune system, which may be increasingly deemed as an independent strong prognostic indicator in severe infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. Five databases (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Clinicaltrials.gov, and gray literature) were searched for six keywords. There was no significant difference in circulating PTX3 levels between intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients with COVID-19, while the PTX3 levels of nonsurvival patients with COVID-19 was significantly lower than those of survival patients. Circulating PTX3 may indicate good diagnostic value in predicting the mortality of COVID-19, which may be useful as an indicator for monitoring.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of the study selection process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Forest plot of circulating PTX3 levels between ICU and non-ICU patients with COVID-19. b Galbr test of circulating PTX3 levels between ICU and non-ICU patients with COVID-19
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a Forest plot of circulating PTX3 levels between survival and nonsurvival patients with COVID-19. b Galbr test of circulating PTX3 levels between survival and nonsurvival patients with COVID-19
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of PTX3 for mortality
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
a Sensitivity analysis of circulating PTX3 levels between ICU and non-ICU patients with COVID-19. b Sensitivity analysis of circulating PTX3 levels between survival and nonsurvival patients with COVID-19
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
a Funnel plot of circulating PTX3 levels between ICU and non-ICU patients with COVID-19. b Funnel plot of circulating PTX3 levels between survival and nonsurvival patients with COVID-19
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