Diagnostic Value of PICP and PIIINP in Myocardial Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Myocardial fibrosis is the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as collagen and fibronectin, and its clinical diagnosis is always with limitations. Recently, PICP and PIIINP have been reported by several studies as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of myocardial fibrosis, however, no meta-analyses focusing on the diagnostic values of these biomarkers have been conducted. So, the present study aimed to investigate the clinical diagnostic value of PICP and PIIINP in myocardial fibrosis patients. Based on the inclusion criteria, 1130 records were identified from four databases, and 12 studies were included eventually after independent screening. All 12 studies were high quality with the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) values ≥7. The results of the present meta-analysis indicated that patients with myocardial fibrosis revealed significantly elevated serum PICP (standard mean difference [SMD] = 0.90, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.40 to 1.40) and PIIINP (SMD = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.04 to 1.23). Therefore, we believe that PICP and PIIINP could be used as potential auxiliary biomarkers in the clinical diagnosis of myocardial fibrosis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.