Accuracy of angiopoietin-2 for predicting organ failure in patients with acute pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the accuracy of angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) as a prognostic marker for acute pancreatitis (AP) with organ failure (OF). METHODS: We undertook a systematic search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Chinese Journals Full-text, Wanfang, China Biology Medicine disc, and Weipu databases to identify eligible cohort studies on the predictive value of Ang-2 for AP with OF. The main outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity. The effects were pooled using a bivariate mixed-effects model. RESULTS: Six articles with seven case-control studies (n = 650) were included. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for AP with OF were 0.93 (95%CI: 0.75–0.99), 0.85 (95%CI: 0.75–0.92), 6.40 (95%CI: 3.36–12.19), and 0.08 (95%CI: 0.02–0.36), respectively. The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.95 (95%CI: 0.92–0.96), and the diagnostic odds ratio was 83.18 (95%CI: 11.50–623.17). Subgroup analysis showed that admission time of AP onset (< or ≥24 hours) was a source of overall heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis supported this finding. CONCLUSION: Ang-2 had high diagnostic accuracy for AP with OF; the best prediction of Ang-2 may be 24 to 72 hours after onset of AP.