Statistical analysis
Qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies or rates.
Quantitative variables were reported as means (standard deviation) or
medians [interquartile range (IQR)], according to their
distribution. The χ test was used to compare categorical
variables; Yates correction was applied to any contingency table and
Fisher’s exact test was used when at least one cell had a value
<5. T-test and ANOVA were used to compare the means of
normally distributed variables whereas Mann-Whitney U test and
Kruskal-Wallis test were performed to compare the medians of variables
not normally distributed. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC)
curves and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were calculated for
significant parameters. The optimal cut-off point of each biomarker was
selected using the Youden Index, based on the maximum sum of sensitivity
and specificity. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values
(VPP) and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated according to
various possible prevalence rates (PR) of SBI. A p value <0.05
was considered significant. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM
SPSS Statistics software version 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA).