This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for patients with gout.
We searched the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases, and performed a meta-analysis on the diagnostic accuracy of DECT in patients with gout.
A total of eight studies including 510 patients with gout and 268 controls (patients with non-gout inflammatory arthritis) were available for the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of DECT were 84.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 81.3-87.7) and 93.7% (93.0-96.3), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 9.882 (6.122-15.95), 0.163 (0.097-0.272), and 78.10 (31.14-195.84), respectively. The area under the curve of DECT was 0.956 and the Q
Our meta-analysis of published studies demonstrates that DECT has a high diagnostic accuracy and plays an important role in the diagnosis of gout.