title: Prognostic value of plasma heart-type fatty acid-binding protein in patients with acute pulmonary embolism: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies have described heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) from early blood samples as a predictor of outcome in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). This systematic review is designed to determine the prognostic value of H-FABP aimed for use in patients with acute PE.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies published prior to January 2013 in PubMed, Ovid, and Embase were reviewed, and the relationship between H-FABP and the risk of acute PE-related death or serious complications was evaluated. A summary estimate was calculated using the bivariate random-effects approach, and covariate analysis was used to examine sources of heterogeneity among studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A systematic search revealed six studies containing a total of 618 patients. Elevated H-FABP level was significantly associated with short-term death (within 30 days of embolism) (OR, 40.78; 95% CI, 11.87-140.09) and with complicated clinical events (OR, 32.71; 95% CI, 11.98-89.26). The prevalence of serious complications and death in acute PE was 51% (95% CI, 43%-59%) and 31% (95% CI, 24% -39%), respectively. The combined sensitivity and specificity for the prediction of death and serious complications was 98% and 86%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  H-FABP is associated with an increased risk of mortality or complicated clinical events in patients with acute PE across different studies with a high degree of clinical and methodologic diversity. The result suggests that H-FABP has significant prognostic value for acute PE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cadre's Ward, the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province.
authors.forename: Li Bo
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Yan'an Hospital of Kunming City. Electronic address: hauliang@163.com.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Policy and Information Research Center, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cadre's Ward, the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province.
authors.forename: Wei Yuan
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D000074026:Fatty Acid Binding Protein 3; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C493408:FABP3 protein, human; D000074026:Fatty Acid Binding Protein 3; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins