A Pooled Analysis of Diagnostic Value of 99mTc-Ubiquicidin (UBI) Scintigraphy in Detection of an Infectious Process

Purpose: Although the data are promising from limited studies with technetium-99m ubiquicidin (Tc-99m-UBI) scintigraphy in detection of infection in humans, these studies have had a limited sample size. This study was conducted to provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of the reported diagnostic accuracy of Tc-99m-UBI scintigraphy in detection of an infectious process. Materials and Methods: The PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar literature databases were systematically searched to find the relevant human studies on Tc-99m-UBI scintigraphy. For each eligible study, the true-positive, false-positive, true-negative, and false-negative findings at Tc-99m-UBI scintigraphy were recorded, and the overall statistical parameters were acquired. Result: Ten studies carried out from 2004 to 2010 were included in the analysis. The pooled data sensitivity was 94.5% and with a 95% confidence interval of 91.2%-96.8%. The pooled specificity was still as high as about 92.7%. The range of reported specificity was from 80% to 100%. The overall accuracy was 93.7% (95% CI: 91.2%-95.7%). Conclusion: The study demonstrated that Tc-99m-UBI scintigraphy can be used to identify an infectious process with admirable accuracy in early views; however, further investigations are recommended.