Open AccessSerum Procalcitonin and C Reactive Protein in as early markers neonatal sepsis- A prospective study
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
perspectives in medical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2348-229X
pISSN - 2348-1447
DOI - 10.47799/pimr.0802.16
Subject(s) - procalcitonin , medicine , neonatal sepsis , sepsis , gestational age , gold standard (test) , blood culture , pediatrics , prospective cohort study , neonatology , c reactive protein , antibiotics , pregnancy , inflammation , genetics , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
Neonatal sepsis is one of the commonest causes of morbidityand mortality in neonates in India compared to the developedcountries. Aim: To evaluate the Procalcitonin level this is anearly marker in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis and to assessthe suitability of this test in the diagnosis of early-onset sepsis.Method: The prospective study was conducted in the NeonatalDivision of Department of Pediatrics, Prathima Institute ofMedical Sciences over a period of one year. The blood samplesfrom 100 babies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteriaconstituted the material for study.Result: Among the n=100 cases n=39 were procalcitoninpositive, compared with gestational age 10 (43.5%) cases werepositive with a gestation of <37 weeks and 24 (31.2%) casespositive of cases >37 weeks and there was no statisticalsignificance concerning gestational age the association ofmaterial characteristics with procalcitonin positive and CRPpositive levels. Blood culture was positive in n=9 (9%) of babieswith (90% CI, 5.3-14.9) and negative in n=91 (91%) of babieswith (90% CI, 85.2-94.7).Conclusion: A positive blood culture is the only definitive andgold standard for confirming a case of sepsis. Since the cultureand sensitivity test requires a minimum period of 48 hourswhich is a precious time in deciding on the treatment of sepsisin the newborn. Rapid diagnosis by using Procalcitonin andCRP gives a reasonable degree of accuracy in diagnosingneonatal sepsis and will also guide antibiotic therapy.Procalcitonin in comparison with CRP has better sensitivity andhence can detect most cases of neonatal sepsis and betternegative predictive value.