title: Diagnostic value of 3D time-of-flight MRA in trigeminal neuralgia.
abstract: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic value of 3D time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (3D-TOF-MRA) in trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Relevant studies were identified by computerized database searches supplemented by manual search strategies. The studies were included in accordance with stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following a multistep screening process, high quality studies related to the diagnostic value of 3D-TOF-MRA in TN were selected for meta-analysis. Statistical analyses were conducted using Statistical Analysis Software (version 8.2; SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) and Meta Disc (version 1.4; Unit of Clinical Biostatistics, Ramon y Cajal Hospital, Madrid, Spain). For the present meta-analysis, we initially retrieved 95 studies from database searches. A total of 13 studies were eventually enrolled containing a combined total of 1084 TN patients. The meta-analysis results demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic value of 3D-TOF-MRA in TN were 95% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.93-0.96) and 77% (95% CI 0.66-0.86), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 2.72 (95% CI 1.81-4.09) and 0.08 (95% CI 0.06-0.12), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio of 3D-TOF-MRA in TN was 52.92 (95% CI 26.39-106.11), and the corresponding area under the curve in the summary receiver operating characteristic curve based on the 3D-TOF-MRA diagnostic image of observers was 0.9695 (standard error 0.0165). Our results suggest that 3D-TOF-MRA has excellent sensitivity and specificity as a diagnostic tool for TN, and that it can accurately identify neurovascular compression in TN patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, LinYi People's Hospital, LinYi, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The Second People's Hospital of Liaocheng City, Liaocheng, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Xue
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Linzi District People's Hospital of Zibo City, Zibo, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu-Qiang
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Penglai Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Penglai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Yiyuan People's Hospital, Yiyuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ji-Liang
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, LanLing People's Hospital, Eastern Huibao Road, LanLing 277700, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: xiefeng5398@126.com.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: 3D time-of-flight MRA; Diagnostic value; Neuroimaging technique; Neurovascular compression; Trigeminal neuralgia