This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ultrasound (US) for patients with gout.
We searched the Medline, Embase, Pubmed, and Cochrane Library databases, and performed a meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of US according to the double contour sign, tophus, snowstorm, or bony erosion in patients with gout.
In total, 11 studies including 938 patients with gout, and 788 controls (patients with nongout inflammatory arthritis) were available for the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of US were 65.1% ([95% confidence interval (CI): 62.0-68.2] and 89.0% (96.6-91.1), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 5.889 (3.365-10.30), 0.359 (0.266-0.485), and 17.61 (11.11-17.92), respectively. The area under the curve of US was 0.858 and the Q
Our meta-analysis of published studies demonstrates that US offers good diagnostic accuracy with high specificity and can play an important role in the diagnosis of gout.