The diagnosis of neonatal sepsis is difficult because clinical manifestation is non-specific. Timely detection and treatment will help in decreasing mortality and morbidity. Blood culture is gold standard but the diagnosis is often retrospective. Thus there is a need for an alternative method which is more rapid, reliable and sensitive. This study was designed to determine the sensitivity, specificity, NPV, PPV and accuracy of hs-CRP, IL-6 and PCT levels, as a diagnostic marker of EONS. 206 neonates with sign and symptoms of sepsis admitted in NICU were included in this study. Blood culture was performed by Bac T/Alert 3D method, hs-CRP, IL-6 and PCT by ELISA. Low birth weight and prematurity were the most common risk factors present in 74% of EOS and 66% of LOS cases. Prolonged IV antibiotics were a risk factor in in EOS and 50% in LOS. CoNS () was the predominant bacterial pathogen isolated, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (), Escherichia coli (), Acinetobacter baumanii () and Klebsiella pneumoniae () in EOS cases. | Role of highly sensitive C- reactive, protein, Interleukin-6 and procalcitonin in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis
