The Diagnostic Utility of Volatile Organic Compounds in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) show promise as potential biomarkers of for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, two chronic idiopathic gastrointestinal disorders with diagnostic and management challenges. Non-invasive biomarkers aid early diagnosis and management. In this study we review studies of diagnostic accuracy of VOCs in inflammatory bowel disease. Methods A systematic search was carried out on the Pubmed and Scopus databases; with sixteen studies reviewed and meta-analysis carried out on ten. Results Meta analysis of 696 IBD cases against 605 controls revealed a pooled sensitivity and specificity of 87% (95% CI, 0.79 - 0.92) and 83% (95% CI, 0.73 - 0.90) respectively. AUC was 0.92. Conclusion VOCs perform very well as non-invasive biomarkers of IBD; with much scope for future improvement and research.