Molecular biomarkers for objective assessment of symptomatic pulpitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Inflammatory biomarkers are potentially useful targets for pulpal diagnostic tests that can identify pulp status and predict vital pulp treatment (VPT) outcome, however, their accuracy is unknown.

Objectives: (1) Calculate sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of previously investigated pulpitic biomarkers; (2) Determine if biomarker levels discriminate between clinical diagnoses of pulpitis based on the presence or absence of spontaneous pain (3) Evaluate if biomarker level can predict VPT outcome.

Methods: Searches: PubMed/MEDLINE, Ovid SP, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), ClinicalTrials.