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The following is a summary of “Lateral-flow device for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis: a systematic review and diagnostic meta-analysis,” published in the March 2025 issue of BMC Infectious Diseases by Fan et al. 

Despite the survival benefit of early invasive aspergillosis (IA) diagnosis, the accuracy of detection remains difficult, leading to the study of non-invasive LFD methods.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the diagnostic accuracy of lateral flow devices (LFD) in detecting IA through a meta-analysis.  

They searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for clinical studies on IA diagnosis using LFD. A random-effects meta-analysis with a bivariate hierarchical model was applied. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROC) were presented using estimates and 95% CI.  

The results showed that 25 studies were included. The pooled sensitivity of LFD for diagnosing IA was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.57–0.75), and specificity was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85–0.93). The diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 15.70 (95% CI: 9.69–25.44), and the area under the SROC curve (AUC) was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82–0.93). Subgroup analysis indicated that bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens had higher sensitivity than serum specimens (0.72, 95% CI: 0.67–0.78 vs 0.49, 95% CI: 0.41–0.56) and greater diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.89).  

Investigators concluded that while LFD was effective for IA detection, specimen source significantly impacted its accuracy. 

Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-025-10769-x