scholarly journals Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Neonatal Sepsis

Author(s):  
Lara R. Shoukry ◽  
Ahmed N. Mohamed ◽  
Alzahraa E. A. Sharaf ◽  
Osama B. S. Osman

Background: Neonatal sepsis (NS) is a major health problem throughout the world. The diagnosis of sepsis is challenging due to the non-specific nature of the clinical presentation, the variety of other neonatal disorders with the differential diagnostic workup, lack of sensitivity and specificity of available diagnostic procedures, and the delay in the results of blood cultures in addition to high negative results reported. The diagnosis of suspected sepsis has to be based on clinical symptoms together with biochemical parameters. A diagnostic marker with high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity would be a valuable tool for decreasing the burden of neonatal sepsis Purpose: Evaluate the validity of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis or the use of a combination of diagnostic markers, C-reactive protein (CRP), and IL-6. Methods: The study included 30 patients with NS (Group I) and 30 healthy newborns as control (Group II) were admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from January 2017 to June 2017. All neonates were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, and laboratory investigations including complete blood count (CBC), blood culture and sensitivity testing, CRP, and IL-6. Results: the most causative organism of neonatal sepsis in NICU was Klebsiella spp. followed by CONS.  IL-6 results with cut-off value 50pg/ml, the sensitivity was 100%, the specificity was 90.32%, the positive predictive value of 90.63%, negative predictive value, and the diagnostic accuracy was 95.16. Moreover, IL-6 levels are significantly higher statistically in NS patients than controls. Conclusion: This study validated the diagnostic capability of IL-6 and showed that the combination of CRP and IL-6 as a panel for the early diagnosis of NS could enhance the sensitivity in the diagnosis of NS and may provide a new diagnostic strategy for NS patients Objective: Evaluate the validity of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis or the use of combination of diagnostic markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6. Patients and methods: The study included 30 patients with NS (Group I) and 30 apparently healthy newborns as control (Group II) were admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from January 2017 to June 2017. All neonates were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, and laboratory investigations including: complete blood count (CBC), blood culture and sensitivity testing, CRP, and IL-6. Results: the most causative organism of neonatal sepsis in NICU was klebsiella spp. followed by CONS.  IL-6 results with cut-off value 50pg/ml, the sensitivity was 100%, the specificity was 90.32%, positive predictive value of 90.63%, negative predictive value, and the diagnostic accuracy was 95.16. Moreover, IL-6 levels are  significant  higher  statistically in NS patients than controls. Conclusion: This study validated the diagnostic capability of IL-6 and showed that the combination of CRP and IL-6 as a panel for the early diagnosis of NS could enhance the sensitivity in the diagnosis of NS and may provide a new diagnostic strategy for NS patients.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e2019055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birol Karabulut ◽  
Baran Cengiz Arcagok

Introduction Neonatal sepsis (NS) is a common systemic disease that causes morbidity and mortality in newborns. But there is no ideal biomarker that can be used in the early diagnosis of NS. In recent studies, platelet width to lymphocyte ratio (PLR)  have been reported to play a critical role in the inflammatory process. In this study, we aimed to contribute to the research about whether or not PLR can be used in the early diagnosis of NS. Methods This retrospective cohort study was conducted among the newborns whose born in İzmir Buca Maternity and Pediatric Hospital between March 2015-February 2016. During these twelve months, 611 neonates with EOS were admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit. One hundred and forty-nine neonates with  suspected EOS, 67 neonates with proven EOS and 92 healty neonates were enrolled in the study. Results Platelet width lymphocyte (LPR) values of the groups were calculated 56.5 ± 17.8 vs 62.4± 14.9 vs 15.3 ± 2.1 respectively. PLR values of suspected or proven EOS group was significantly higher than the control group. PLR has AUC 0.89 to 0.93, cutoff value of 39.5 to 57.7, sensitivity of 88.9% to 91.3% and specifity of 94.7% to 97.6%, positive predictive value of 94.3% to 97.4%, and negative predictive value of 88.6% to 91.8% in suspected and proven sepsis diagnosis. Conclusion Based on our results suggest that PLR can be used as a biomarker predictive of EOS.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 3008-3013
Author(s):  
Silvia Maria Stoicescu ◽  
Ramona Mohora ◽  
Monica Luminos ◽  
Madalina Maria Merisescu ◽  
Gheorghita Jugulete ◽  
...  

Difficulties in establishing the onset of neonatal sepsis has directed the medical research in recent years to the possibility of identifying early biological markers of diagnosis. Overdiagnosing neonatal sepsis leads to a higher rate and duration in the usage of antibiotics in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which in term leads to a rise in bacterial resistance, antibiotherapy complications, duration of hospitalization and costs.Concomitant analysis of CRP (C Reactive Protein), procalcitonin, complete blood count, presepsin in newborn babies with suspicion of early or late neonatal sepsis. Presepsin sensibility and specificity in diagnosing neonatal sepsis. The study group consists of newborns admitted to Polizu Neonatology Clinic between 15th February- 15th July 2017, with suspected neonatal sepsis. We analyzed: clinical manifestations and biochemical markers values used for diagnosis of sepsis, namely the value of CRP, presepsin and procalcitonin on the onset day of the disease and later, according to evolution. CRP values may be influenced by clinical pathology. Procalcitonin values were mainly influenced by the presence of jaundice. Presepsin is the biochemical marker with the fastest predictive values of positive infection. Presepsin can be a useful tool for early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis and can guide the antibiotic treatment. Presepsin value is significantly higher in neonatal sepsis compared to healthy newborns (939 vs 368 ng/mL, p [ 0.0001); area under receiver operating curve (AUC) for presepsine was 0.931 (95% confidence interval 0.86-1.0). PSP has a greater sensibility and specificity compared to classical sepsis markers, CRP and PCT respectively (AUC 0.931 vs 0.857 vs 0.819, p [ 0.001). The cut off value for presepsin was established at 538 ng/mLwith a sensibility of 79.5% and a specificity of 87.2 %. The positive predictive value (PPV) is 83.8 % and negative predictive value (NPV) is 83.3%.


Author(s):  
Adel Hagag ◽  
Mohamed S Elfarargy ◽  
Reham Lyonis ◽  
Ghada M Al-Ashmawy

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a clinical syndrome characterized by symptoms and signs of infection in the first twenty eight days of life. Serum thyroid, cortisol and hepcidin are affected by neonatal sepsis. Aim of the work: The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of serum thyroid hormones including free triiodothyronine (free TT3) and free tetraiodothyronine (free TT4), serum cortisol and hepcidin levels through comparison of their concentrations between normal neonates and neonates with high probable late onset sepsis. Patients and Methods: This case control study was carried out on 40 neonates with suspected high probable late onset neonatal sepsis based on clinical and laboratory finding who were admitted to NICU of Pediatric Department, Tanta University, Egypt in the period from April 2017 to May 2019 (group I) and 40 healthy neonates matched in age and sex as a control group (group II). For patients and controls; blood culture, highly sensitive C‑reactive protein (H-s CRP), serum hepcidin, serum cortisol and thyroid hormones levels including free TT3 and free TT4 were assessed. Results: There were no significant differences between studied groups as regard weight, gestational age, sex and mode of delivery. H-s CRP, serum cortisol and hepcidin were significantly higher in group I than group II while serum free TT3 and free TT4 were significantly lower in group I compared with controls. There was significantly lower H-s CRP, serum hepcidin and cortisol and significantly higher serum free TT3 and free TT4 in group I after antibiotic therapy compared to the same group before treatment while there were no significant differences between group I after antibiotic therapy and control group as regard the same parameters. There were significant positive correlation between H-s CRP and serum hepcidin and cortisol in group I while there was significant negative correlation between H-s CRP and free TT3 and free TT4. ROC curve of specificity and sensitivity of H-s CRP, serum hepcidin, cortisol, free TT3 and free TT4 in prediction of neonatal sepsis shows that serum hepcidin had the highest sensitivity and specificity with 95% and 90% respectively followed by serum cortisol, H-s CRP, free TT3 and lastly free TT4. Conclusion and recommendations: Neonates with high probable sepsis had significantly higher serum cortisol and hepcidin and significantly lower free TT3 and free TT4 compared with healthy neonates. These findings may arouse our attention about the use of these markers in diagnosis of in neonatal sepsis which can lead to early treatment and subsequently better prognosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-89
Author(s):  
Ayatun Nesa ◽  
Farjana Yesmin ◽  
M A Muttalib

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening condition with high mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Objective: This study evaluated the diagnostic role of serum procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among neonates admitted to the special baby care unit (SCABU) of BIRDEM General Hospital, Dhaka, from November 2018 to April 2019. According to selection criteria, 90 clinically suspected cases of neonatal sepsis were selected and categorised into confirmed, probable, and no sepsis groups based on CRP, white cell count, platelet count, and blood culture results. Serum PCT, IL-6, and tumor  necrosis factor (TNF-a) were estimated in all cases by standard laboratory methods. Results: Serum PCT, IL-6, CRP, and TNF-awere significantly higher in confirmed and probable sepsis groups in comparison to no sepsis group. Among the studied biomarkers, serum PCT was found most sensitive (95% sensitivity), and serum IL-6 was found most specific biomarkers (65.7% specificity) than CRP and TNF-a for the diagnosis of neonatal septicaemia. Though the accuracy of both PCT and IL-6 was found equal (70%), but the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of serum PCT were higher than IL-6. Conclusion: Both serum PCT and IL-6 are more sensitive and specific markers than CRP and TNF-a in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Moreover, serum PCT is more useful than IL-6. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2020; 46(2): 83-89


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-65
Author(s):  
Chiranjib Barua ◽  
Md Nurul Anwar ◽  
Md Shahidullah ◽  
Shahadat Hossain ◽  
Sharmila Barua ◽  
...  

Neonatal septicemia is a clinical syndrome of systemic illness accompanied by bacteremia occuring in the first 28 days of life. Neonatal septicemia is one of the major causes of neonatal death in developing countries. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent neonatal mortality and morbidity. The present study includes: 1) usefulness of CRP (C-reactive protein), Total Leucocyte Count, Platelet Count and Blood Culture in early diagnosis of Neonatal Sepsis, 2) significance of serial CRP in diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. 3) the prognostic value of CRP in neonatal sepsis. This is a prospective study done in neonatal ward, Chittagong Medical College Hospital and carried out from January 2008 to January 2011. Sample size was 300. One hundred fifty neonates with suspected sepsis as cases and 150 healthy babies as control were enrolled in this study. Seventy two percent of cases neonates were preterm and low birth weight. Common risk factors for neonatal septicemia which were identified in this study; preterm (72%), low birth weight (72%), premature rupture membrane (60%), chorioamnionitis (26%) and maternal urinary tract infection (16%) . Out of 150 cases of suspected neonatal sepsis total 80.7%% had raised CRP, in initial sample 70.39% were CRP positive and in 2nd sample additional 9.31% case were CRP positive . In control group 91% were CRP negative. CRP was positive in 100% of culture proven sepsis. Sensitivity of CRP was 80.67% and specificity of CRP was 76.44%. Leucocytosis was observed in 7% of cases and leucopenia was found in 11% of cases. In 82 % cases leucocyte count was found normal. In control group, 95% had normal leucocyte count and 5% had leucocytosis but no leucopenia. Sensitivity of leucocyte count was 18% and specificity was 20.68%. Thrombocytopenia was found in 28% of case group. Out of 150 cases only 15.33% yielded growth of organisms in blood culture. Klebsiella was the most common pathogen isolated which was followed by E.coli and Strph. aureus. Sensitivity of blood culture was 15.33% and specificity was 100% Therefore serial CRP can be taken as alternative method for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis specially in developing countries where blood culture is not readily available.J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2014; 32: 61-65


Author(s):  
R. Rohsiswatmo ◽  
M. Azharry ◽  
T.T. Sari ◽  
Y. Bahasoan ◽  
D. Wulandari

BACKGROUND: Late-onset neonatal sepsis (LONS) detection is problematic as no single examinations (blood culture, c-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT)) are reliable. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which detect the presence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns is a promising novel biomarker, but less studied in LONS. This study aimed to determine neutrophils and monocytes TLR2 and TLR4 expression in LONS and their diagnostic value. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted in May and June 2017 involving 52 neonates with clinical late-onset (>72 hours of age) sepsis. We examine complete blood count, I/T ratio, CRP, PCT, as well as TLR2 and TLR4 expression to compared with blood culture as the gold standard. We classified cases into proven or unproven sepsis. RESULT: The incidence of LONS was 32.6% in the subjects. The expression of TLR2 was low in LONS, while TLR4 was high. TLR4 neutrophil expression has 88.2% sensitivity, 20% specificity, 34.9% positive predictive value (PPV), 77.8% negative predictive value (NPV), and an AUC of 0.541. TLR4 monocyte expression has 92.1% sensitivity, 11.4% specificity, 34% PPV, 80% NPV, and an AUC of 0.528. The AUC of CRP is increased from 0.608 to 0.843 after combination with TLR4, comparable with CRP + PCT (AUC 0.829). CONCLUSION: The increase in TLR4 expression has good sensitivity but low specificity. TLR4 expression, in combination with CRP, could become a reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of LONS.


Author(s):  
Birol Karabulut ◽  
Silem Ozdem Alatas

AbstractBy setting out from increased neutrophil count, decreased lymphocyte count, and increased mean platelet volume (MPV), which is a result of the effect of inflammation on blood cells, we aimed to investigate whether neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLP) and MPV can be used as an auxiliary parameter for the diagnosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EOS). This study was conducted by analyzing term neonates with EOS and physiological jaundice who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Izmir Katip Celebi University Ataturk Training and Research Hospital. A total of 63 neonate files were examined to include 30 term neonates with EOS, and 77 neonate files were examined to include 30 term neonates with physiological jaundice as a control group. NLR had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.891 for prediction of EOS. At a cut-off level of 1.42, NLR had a likelihood ratio (LR) of 5.5, sensitivity of 88%, a specificity of 84%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 84.6%, and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 87.5%. MPV had an AUC of 0.666 for the prediction of EOS and at a cut-off level of 9.3 fL, MPV had an LR of 1.23, sensitivity of 84%, a specificity of 32%, a PPV of 55.2%, and an NPV of 66.6%. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that NLR and MPV can be used in addition to conventional parameters in the diagnosis of EOS.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
Jesmin Akter ◽  
Forrukh Ahammad ◽  
Tahmina Begum

Background: Early recognition and diagnosis of neonatal sepsis are difficult because of the variable and non-specific clinical presentation of this condition. It is extremely important to make an early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis for prompt institution of antimicrobial therapy. So the objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of serum procalcitonin as a reliable marker in diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.Methodology: This cross sectional analytical study was carried out in the Special Care Baby Unit of a tertiary level care hospital in Bangladesh from September 2012 to May 2013. Total 75 newborn with suspected sepsis were included in the study. Specimens of blood were obtained from each neonate prior to commencement of antibiotic for sepsis work up. Serum CRP and procalcitoninlevels were measured. The data from blood cultures were used as the gold standard to evaluate the optimum sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and area under the Receiver Operative Characteristic (ROC) curves.Results:Among total 75 newborns included in this study, 49.3% (37) newborn were diagnosed as proven sepsis and 50.7% (38) newborn as clinical sepsis.The procalcitonin (PCT) was high in 58.7% (500-<2000 pg/ml) newborn and remarkably high (2000-<10000) in 36% newborn with sepsis. At a cut-off value > 500pg/ml, the sensitivity of PCT in detecting sepsis was 48.6%, its specificity 76.3%, positive predictive value was 66.7%, and negative predictive value was 60.4% whereas the sensitivity of CRP for predicting sepsis was 35.1%, specificity 78.9%, positive predictive value 61.9% and negative predictive value was 55.6%. The area under the ROC curve for procalcitonin(0.653) was significantly higher than CRP (0.571).Conclusion:Serum PCT was superior to serum CRP level in terms of early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, in detecting the severity of sepsis. PCT is a reliable marker than CRP in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.Bangladesh J Child Health 2018; VOL 42 (1) :19-25


2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 492-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidija Ristic ◽  
Milan Rancic ◽  
Tatjana Pejcic

Introduction. The aim of this prospective, originally designed, clinical - diagnostic study including 200 chronic hypoxemic patients was to assess the possibility of implementation of noninvasive diagnostic strategy and to investigate the incidence of pulmonary embolism and parameters of diagnostic accuracy of radiological findings according to Shintz criteria, echocardiography, lung perfusion scanning according to PIOPED criteria. Material and methods. The study included 200 chronic hypoxemic patients divided into 2 groups, the group I consisting of 42 women and 58 men and the group II consisting of 48 women and 52 men. Results and conclusion. Out of 200 hypoxemic patients, 49 patients (24.5%) were found to have pulmonary embolism. In the group I of 100 patients (42 women and 58 men) with chronic hypoxemia and secondary erythrocytosis the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was confirmed in 39%, that being statistically significantly different (p<0.001) from 100 patients (48 women and 52 men) in the group II with chronic hypoxemia without secondary erythrocytosis, where pulmonary embolism was found in 10% of the patients. The predictive value was positive for direct radiological signs in 92.3% of patients in the group I for PTE, for indirect ones in 74.35%, and in the group II it was positive for direct radiological signs in 60% and for indirect ones in 90%. The predictive value of perfusion scan was positive in 59% of the group I and in only 22% of the group II. The predictive value for high pressure in the pulmonary artery was positive in 93.7% of the group I and in 66.6% of the group II. The following were found to be a variable predictor: hypoxemia, enlargement of the pulmonary artery, peripheral oligemia and elevation of diaphragm. Logistic regression according to backward - conditional method showed that the chronic hypoxemic patients with secondary erythrocytosis, who had radiological sign of peripheral oligemia - Westermark sign, had 2.286 times higher probability of having pulmonary embolism than similar patients without this sign.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 466-472
Author(s):  
MT Sener ◽  
Y Anci ◽  
K Kalkan ◽  
MZ Kir ◽  
M Emet

Objective: To determine whether or not wave/interval dispersions in electrocardiography (ECG) are increased, and to define whether wave and interval dispersions are correlated with carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels. Methods: ECG, complete blood count, and biochemical parameters were taken from 87 patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning as well as 90 control patients with similar age, gender, and body mass index distribution. COHb levels were recorded in CO-poisoning patients. The COHb levels and the relationships with ECG parameters were studied. Results: Pmax, Pmin, Pd, PRmax, PRmin, PRd, QTmax, QTmin, QTd, cQTmax, cQTmin, cQTd, Tmax, Tmin, and Td in ECG were higher in intoxicated patients than the control group ( p < 0.05 for all). Pearson’s correlation analyses showed moderately significant positive correlations between COHb level and Pmax ( r = 0.224; p = 0.037) and Pd ( r = 0.222; p = 0.039). The receiver–operator characteristic (ROC) curve showed that a Pd value of 38 ms determined by ECG separates patients with a COHb ≥ 20% with area under the ROC curve of 0.78 (95%CI = 0.71–0.83), a sensitivity of 67.9% (95%CI = 59.4–75.6), a specificity of 95% (95%CI = 83.0–99.2], a positive predictive value of 97.9% (95%CI = 92.5–99.7), and a negative predictive value of 46.3% (95%CI = 35.3–57.7.) Conclusion: A significant increase in wave/interval dispersions in the ECG of CO-poisoning patients compared with controls may show that not only a part is affected but both atrium and the ventricles as a whole are affected by hypoxic ischemia. When COHb levels of the patients are unavailable, P dispersion on ECG may show CO poisoning level of the patient.


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