Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and Plasma Lactate Level in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Neonatal Bacteremia

Abstract

Abstract Background Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening clinical condition. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality if not treated properly. Blood culture remains the gold standard method diagnosis of sepsis, but it takes at least 24 hours for presumptive diagnosis. Owing to the fact that neonates are vulnerable and can deteriorate easily, rapid diagnosis and management is a must. Aim of the Work Determination of the role of mean platelet volume (MPV) and Blood Lactic acid (BLA) level in the diagnosis and prognosis of neonatal bacteremia. Materials and Methods Study included 108 clinically septic neonates aged 0-28 days, admitted to NICU in Ain Shams University Hospitals. All neonates were subjected to blood culture as gold standard method, complete blood picture (for MPV evaluation), CRP, and BLA, then they were equally divided into two groups bacteremic group, and non-bacteremic group. Results The current study showed that there was a significant difference between bacteremic and nonbacteremic group as regards MPV, CRP, and BLA with higher mean and median values among bacteremic group with P value 0.001, 0.003, and 0.021 respectively. High BLA level was found to be highly significant in non-survived neonates when compared to the survived ones with P value 0.001. Conclusion MPV and BLA tests are simple, rapid, and inexpensive methods to diagnose neonatal bacteremia. The available evidence confirms significantly higher MPV, and BLA in neonates with bacteremia compared to neonates with non-bacteremia causes of sepsis. Therefore, in clinical practice, MPV and BLA could be used as indicators for the early diagnosis of sepsis, while blood lactic acid could be used additionally as a predictor of mortality.