Abstract
BackgroundSepsis is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the newborn. Early diagnosis and treatment is vital to improve outcome. The present study was therefore carried out to determine the usefulness of C-reactive protein (CRP) for evaluation of neonatal sepsis in Port Harcourt, Nigeria in Sub-Saharan Africa.MethodFour hundred and twenty neonates with clinical suspicion of sepsis were prospectively studied over a 6 month period. Blood was obtained from each subject recruited for the qualitative estimation of CRP. Blood culture was used as gold standard for diagnosis of NNS.ResultsOf 420 neonates studied, 196 (46.7%) had positive CRP while 181 (43.1%) had positive blood culture. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CRP were 74.0%, 74.1%, 68.4% and 79.0% respectively.ConclusionThe qualitative method of estimating CRP which is cheap and rapid has moderate sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value.
Highlights
Neonatal sepsis (NNS) and neonatal septicaemia are terms that have been used to describe the systemic response to infection and/or isolation of bacteria from the blood stream in the first 28 days of life [1]
Initiation of antibiotic therapy before diagnostic results are available is recommended for neonates with clinical signs or risk factors of sepsis [6], but because the clinical signs of
Of the 545 neonates admitted into the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) during the period of study, 420 (77.1%) were studied
Summary
Neonatal sepsis (NNS) and neonatal septicaemia are terms that have been used to describe the systemic response to infection and/or isolation of bacteria from the blood stream in the first 28 days of life [1]. Adequate and timely diagnosis of NNS remains an important challenge to the clinician. Blood culture is the gold standard for definitive diagnosis but it takes at least 48 hours by which time the infection may have progressed with important consequences on the morbidity and mortality of the neonate [4], especially if antibiotic treatment is not initiated immediately [5]. Initiation of antibiotic therapy before diagnostic results are available is recommended for neonates with clinical signs or risk factors of sepsis [6], but because the clinical signs of NNS are often non-specific, empiric antibiotic therapy may result in the treatment of as many as 30 uninfected neonates for every one who is eventually diagnosed to be infected [7,8,9]. The present study was carried out to determine the usefulness of C-reactive protein (CRP) for evaluation of neonatal sepsis in Port Harcourt, Nigeria in Sub-Saharan Africa
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