The Accuracy of Physical Examination to Diagnose Anemia Among Patients Five Years or Older: A Systematic Review

AbstractAnemia remains a significant public health challenge, disproportionately impacting lower-income patients residing in areas of lesser healthcare resources. We sought to evaluate the accuracy of physical exam techniques to diagnose anemia among patients 5  years of age or older. A systematic review of 5 databases (MEDLINE via OVID, EMBASE, Scopus, Global Health and Global Health Archives, and WHO Global Index Medicus) was conducted. Studies that (1) compared non-invasive physical exam techniques with anemia diagnoses using standard laboratory measur ements and (2) solely assessed or separately reported the diagnostic accuracy of physical exam techniques for patients 5 years or older were considered for inclusion. The diagnostic accuracies of individual and combinatorial physical exam techniques todiagnose anemia were documented. This systemati c review was registered with PROSPERO. The systemic literature search yielded 6,457 unique studies after removal of duplicates. Fourteen studies were ultimately selected for inclusion. Eight studies solely assessed pregnant females, 4 solely assessed hospitalized patients, and 2 evaluated the genera l population. The diagnostic accuracy ranged widely for pallor assessments of conjunctivae (sensitivity: 19–97%, specificity: 65–100%), nailbed (sensitivity: 41–65%, specificity: 58–93%), and palms (sensitivity: 33–91%, specificity: 54–93%). Examining 9 or more sites leads to higher sens itivity (73.8–82.9%) and specifi...
Source: Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion - Category: Hematology Source Type: research