Diagnostic Evaluation of Modified Hematological Sepsis Score and Presepsin in Neonatal Sepsis

Abstract

eonatal sepsis is one of the main causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality, it is defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by a set of hemodynamic, respiratory and metabolic alterations secondary to an infectious process that can trigger an abnormal systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). One of the major challenges in the management of neonatal sepsis is getting an accurate diagnosis as newborns have very subtle presentations, and multiple conditions that resemble neonatal sepsis. Furthermore, incidence rates of neonatal sepsis from low- resource countries are generally higher, so it represents a greater challenge in our hospitals. Given the above challenges, early detection and proper management may mitigate the outcomes. This work aimed to study the performance of modified hematological sepsis score and presepsin levels in neonatal sepsis diagnosis in comparison to conventional markers. The study was conducted on fifty one neonates admitted for suspected neonatal sepsis and thirty neonates for non-infectious causes (e.g. neonatal jaundice, hemorrhagic disease of newborn, infant of diabetic mother, prematurity without sepsis, intrauterine growth retardation and respiratory distress syndrome) to serve as control group. All patients were subjected to full history taking, thorough clinical examination, complete blood count with examination of Leishman-stained smear and calculation of HSS and MHSS, CRP level, blood culture and Soluble CD14 level.