Anwar Zeb Jan, Shahzada Bakhtyar Zahid, Samreen Ahmad.
Role of C-reactive protein in diagnosing neonatal sepsis.
Khyber Med Uni Med J Jan ;4(4):161-4.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of C-reactive protein (CRP) in diagnosing neonatal sepsis. Methodology: A cross sectional study of neonates suspected to have sepsis was carried out in the neonatology depart¬ment of Rehman Medical Institute Peshawar Pakistan. The duration of study was from 1stJan, 2010 to 31st Dec, 2011. A total of 300 cases were selected who were fulfilling the criteria for neonatal sepsis. C-reactive protein and blood cultures were done in all cases following a standard protocol. Results: Among 300 neonates selected, sepsis was confirmed among 56 % (167 of 300) cases. This was done on the basis of positive blood culture. In 66% (198 of 300) cases C-reactive protein was positive with the Sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of 94.01%, 69.17%, 79.29%, 90.19% respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of CRP was 83.0%. Conclusion: C-reactive protein is a good diagnostic test index and can identify the infection in neonates at the time of initial assessment.

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