Table 4.
Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis for predictive accuracy of NLR for prediction of mortality
| Categories | Sensitivity | Specificity | sAUC | DOR | I2(parameter) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prediction of severity | |||||
| ≤17% mortality N = 7 studies |
0.75 (0.64–0.84) | 0.77 (0.11–0.89) | 0.82 (0.79–0.86) | 21 (12–36) |
21.2% (SEN) 89.2% (SPE) |
| >17% mortality N = 8 studies |
0.75 (0.68–0.81) | 0.73 (0.66–0.79) | 0.79 (0.75–0.82) | 11 (5–23) | 77.9% (SEN) 95.3% (SPE) |
| Hypertension 29% or less N = 5 |
0.82 (0.66–0.92) | 0.82 (0.71–0.90) | 0.89 (0.86–0.92) | 22 (7–72) | 84.2% (SEN) 91.4% (SPE) |
| Hypertension 29% or more N = 6 |
0.85 (0.78–0.90) | 0.71 (0.56–0.83) | 0.87 (0.84–0.90) | 14 (8–24) |
22.1% (SEN) 93.2% (SPE) |
| Diabetes 16% or less N = 4 |
0.88 (0.75–0.95) | 0.81 (0.68–0.89) | 0.92 (0.89–0.94) | 31 (12–79) | 63.7% (SEN) 90.8% (SPE) |
| Diabetes 16% or more N = 7 |
0.81 (0.71–0.88) | 0.75 (0.60–0.85) | 0.85 (0.82–0.88) | 12 (6–27) | 70.1% (SEN) 93.8% (SPE) |
| Age less than 60 N = 6 |
0.76 (0.59–0.87) | 0.73 (0.51–0.88) | 0.81 (0.78–0.84) | 9 (4–20) | 77.4% (SEN) 94.8% (SPE) |
| Age more than 50 N = 6 |
0.80 (0.74–0.85) | 0.85 (0.80–0.89) | 0.87 (0.84–0.90) | 23 (15–36) |
20.4% (SEN) 82.8% (SPE) |
| Outside China N = 9 |
0.79 (0.68–0.82) | 0.69 (0.64–0.74) | 0.79 (0.70–0.88) | 6 (2–9) | 71.4% (SEN) 88.8% (SPE) |
| China N = 6 |
0.82 (0.72–0.87) | 0.76 (0.71–0.81) | 0.80 (0.71–0.83) | 10 (6–114) | 67.4% (SEN) 88.8% (SPE) |
DOR, diagnostic odds ratio; sAUC, summary area under the curve; SEN, sensitivity; SPE, specificity I2 parameter close to 50% or <50% suggests that the sensitivity and specificity in this sub group is not due to heterogeneity. These have been highlighted in bold