Prognostic value of C-reactive protein in neonatal sepsis

6 mg/l were included in the study. All patients were sent for blood culture, and the final diagnosis of sepsis depended on the result of blood culture. Results: Male gender constituted 63.5% of patients with sepsis compared to 51% patients without sepsis. Refusal to feed and tachypnea were the most frequent complaints in both groups (sepsis and no sepsis). All patients at admission had high CRP while only 52% had culture-proven sepsis. After 72 hrs of admission, CRP was still high in approximately half of the patients after receiving treatment but only 62% of them had positive blood culture. Higher initial CRP titer constituted 40.4% of the sepsis group compared to only 23.4% of no sepsis group, the difference was significant (p=0.009). CRP levels between 6 mg/L and 12 mg/L were more frequently observed among no sepsis than in sepsis groups (14.4% and 37.2% respectively). In patients with CRP 40 mg/L, CRP was significantly higher in patients with blood culture positive than in patients with suspected sepsis but negative blood culture, and after 72 hours of treatment high levels of CRP still constituted 60.6% of cases with proven sepsis compared to 46% among the suspected sepsis group but with negative blood culture. Death rate was 5% and E. coli was the predominant micro-organism isolated. Conclusion: Gram-negative micro-organisms are a predominant cause of neonatal sepsis in our community. Predictive value of CRP could be enhanced by serial rather than a single measurement. A high cut off value of CRP may be needed to diagnose neonatal sepsis. Keywords: Neonatal sepsis, CRP, blood culture.]]>