Table 4.
Summary estimates of sensitivity (SENS), specificity (SPEC), positive likelihood ratio (LR+)* and negative likelihood ratio (LR–)† at selected MUAC cut-offs for all studies combined
| MUAC (cm) | SENS | 95% CI | SPEC | 95% CI | LR+ | 95% CI | LR– | 95% CI | No. of studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤19·0 | 4·9 | 2·2, 10·5 | 99·7 | 99·2, 99·9 | 16·7 | 5·7, 48·6 | 1·0 | 0·9, 1·0 | 15 |
| ≤19·5 | 7·9 | 4·1, 14·7 | 99·6 | 99·0, 99·9 | 20·8 | 9·2, 46·9 | 0·9 | 0·9, 1·0 | 15 |
| ≤20·0 | 11·3 | 6·0, 20·2 | 99·6 | 98·9, 99·9 | 31·8 | 13·2, 76·4 | 0·9 | 0·8, 1·0 | 16 |
| ≤20·5 | 16·0 | 9·4, 26·0 | 99·3 | 98·3, 99·7 | 22·9 | 11·6, 45·0 | 0·8 | 0·8, 0·9 | 17 |
| ≤21·0 | 22·8 | 13·9, 35·1 | 99·0 | 97·5, 99·6 | 22·1 | 12·2, 40·2 | 0·8 | 0·7, 0·9 | 18 |
| ≤21·5 | 31·0 | 20·0, 44·7 | 98·4 | 95·7, 99·4 | 19·6 | 9·2, 41·8 | 0·7 | 0·6, 0·8 | 19 |
| ≤22·0 | 45·5 | 29·9, 62·0 | 96·4 | 89·7, 98·8 | 12·7 | 5·8, 27·8 | 0·6 | 0·4, 0·7 | 19 |
| ≤22·5 | 58·1 | 37·7, 76·1 | 94·7 | 85·2, 98·3 | 11·1 | 5·1, 24·1 | 0·4 | 0·3, 0·7 | 20 |
| ≤23·0 | 64·8 | 47·0, 79·3 | 93·3 | 86·4, 96·9 | 9·7 | 5·8, 16·4 | 0·4 | 0·2, 0·6 | 19 |
| ≤23·5 | 75·1 | 61·2, 85·2 | 89·0 | 79·4, 94·4 | 6·8 | 4·0, 11·6 | 0·3 | 0·2, 0·4 | 19 |
| ≤24·0 | 84·1 | 74·1, 90·8 | 83·2 | 71·7, 90·7 | 5·0 | 3·1, 8·1 | 0·2 | 0·1, 0·3 | 19 |
| ≤24·5 | 89·9 | 82·1, 94·6 | 77·4 | 64·1, 86·8 | 4·0 | 2·5, 6·3 | 0·1 | 0·1, 0·2 | 19 |
| ≤25·0 | 92·9 | 87·7, 96·0 | 73·3 | 61·8, 82·3 | 3·5 | 2·4, 5·0 | 0·1 | 0·1, 0·2 | 18 |
| ≤25·5 | 95·7 | 92·0, 97·7 | 66·7 | 53·8, 77·6 | 2·9 | 2·0, 4·1 | 0·1 | 0·0, 0·1 | 18 |
| ≤26·0 | 97·6 | 94·6, 98·9 | 58·7 | 44·8, 71·3 | 2·4 | 1·7, 3·2 | 0·0 | 0·0, 0·1 | 18 |
| ≤26·5 | 98·0 | 95·7, 99·1 | 51·0 | 37·3, 64·6 | 2·0 | 1·5, 2·6 | 0·0 | 0·0, 0·1 | 18 |
MUAC, mid-upper arm circumference; CI, confidence interval.
*
LR+ denotes the ratio between the probability of MUAC ≤cut-off given BMI < 18·5 kg/m2 and the probability of MUAC ≤cut-off given BMI ≥ 18·5 kg/m2 = SENS/(1–SPEC).
†
LR– denotes the ratio between the probability of MUAC >cut-off given BMI < 18·5 kg/m2 and the probability of MUAC >cut-off given BMI ≥ 18·5 kg/m2 = (1–SENS)/SPEC.