The diagnostic significance of the C-reactive protein (CRP) in HIV/TB coinfection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundDrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains have challenged efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB), a major global killer. C-reactive protein (CRP) shows promise as a biomarker for TB screening, particularly in HIV-positive cases, with demonstrated sensitivity and specificity in meta-analyses.MethodsWe performed a meta-analysis to assess the accuracy of CRP for screening HIV-associated PTB in outpatients, combining the sensitivities and specificities of diagnostic tests. PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS were searched for articles that were published until April 2024. Quality assessment was done using the QUADAS-2 scale, and analysis was conducted using the random-effect model in STATA 17.ResultsEighteen studies, primarily from Africa (2013-2023), were analysed from an initial pool of 1186. These studies included 5625 HIV patients, 1248 of whom had PTB coinfection. Using a CRP threshold of 10 mg/L, 17 studies (5109 patients) showed 84% sensitivity (95% CI: 72%-91%) and 67% specificity (95% CI: 52%-79%) with I² = 84.91%. At 8 mg/L, nine studies (3631 patients) reported 77% sensitivity (95% CI: 65%-86%) and 81% specificity (95% CI: 69%-89%) with I² = 86.75%.ConclusionsOur study showed that CRP may aid in screening for PTB in PLHIV but requires clinical assessment and additional tests. Its high sensitivity can rule out PTB, but low specificity necessitates further investigation.