Background: The urinary biomarker tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) combined with insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-7 (IGFBP7) has recently been used in the early prediction of persistent acute kidney injury (AKI). However, there is no consensus on the use of urinary TIMP-2 combined with IGFBP7 in predicting persistent AKI. Hence, the present meta-analysis was performed to assess the totality of the current evidence regarding the utilization of urinary TIMP-2 combined with IGFBP7 in predicting persistent AKI.
Materials and methods: Relevant studies for this meta-analysis were obtained from the EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to December 2020. The data on specificity and sensitivity were extracted, and the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were constructed.
Results: Four studies involving 382 patients were included in this research. The specificity of [TIMP-2] * [IGFBP7] on admission in predicting persistent AKI was 0.68 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.50 - 0.82), and the sensitivity was 0.61 (95% CI = 0.46 - 0.75). The area under the curve estimated by SROC was 0.69 (95% CI = 0.65 - 0.73).
Conclusion: Based on the latest evidence, the present meta-analysis established that urinary TIMP-2 combined with IGFBP7 on admission is a poor predictor of persistent AKI.