Muhammad Jameel Ashraf, Syed Kashif Abbas, Atika Sher.
Procalcitonin as a Diagnostic Marker of Sepsis in Neonates.
Ann Abbasi Shaheed Hosp Karachi Med Dent Coll Jan ;23(03):124-9.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of serum procalcitonin levels (PCT) by taking blood culture as gold standard. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi over a period of six months from June 2017 to December 2017. A total of 141 babies were enrolled in the study that had evidence of neonatal sepsis. Non-probability consecutive sampling was the technique used in our study for sample collection. Later on, after completion of data of required sample, a data base was developed on SPSS for windows version 22.0 for data analysis. Mean, median and standard deviation were calculated for continuous while frequency along with percentages was drawn for qualitative variables. Pearson Chi-square test (?2) was applied on all qualitative variables by taking p-value <0.05 as significant. Finally, the diagnostic accuracy of serum procalcitonin levels in neonatal sepsis was calculated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and negative predictive values using blood culture as gold standard. Results: Of 141 neonates, 68 were males and 73 were females which constitutes 48.2% and 51.8%, respectively. The mean weight of neonates was 2.49 ± 0.55 kg, while mean height and FOC (frontaloccipital circumference) were found to be 46.22 ± 3.17 cm and 33.29 ± 1.41 cm, respectively. The sensitivity of PCT in this study was found to be 70.90% while the specificity was 77.90%. Furthermore, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) accounted for 67.24% and 80.72%, respectively. Conclusion: Although blood culture is the gold standard method to diagnose neonatal sepsis in neonates, however PCT has also shown good accuracy with quick results in diagnosing neonatal sepsis in this study. The early use of PCT in neonatal infection may definitely help us limiting number of neonates putting on antibiotics due to suspected risk of infection.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com