NEUTROPHIL GELATINASE-ASSOCIATED LIPOCALIN LEVEL IN THE BLOOD AS A PREDICTOR OF EARLY AND LATE ONSET NEONATAL SEPSIS

Mohamed Zahe, Manal; Abd Allah Mohamed, Soma; Abdel Ghaffar Mohamed, Nagwa; Abdelaziz Ali, Ali; Hussien Abd Allah, Raghda

doi:10.21608/azjp.2015.101775

NEUTROPHIL GELATINASE-ASSOCIATED LIPOCALIN LEVEL IN THE BLOOD AS A PREDICTOR OF EARLY AND LATE ONSET NEONATAL SEPSIS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

10.21608/azjp.2015.101775

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the blood neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) level in septic newborns and its role as early biomarker in neonatal sepsis. Subject and Methods:The study group consisted of forty neonates was diagnosed as neonatal sepsis and the control group included twenty newborns. Inclusion criteria were formerly sought in our subjects who were diagnosed using the clinical signs and laboratory findings of sepsis. The results of white blood cell and platelet counts, immature/total neutrophil ratio, CRP and NGAL values were evaluated in both groups. Enzyme linked zorbant immunoassay methods were used to determine the NGAL levels. Results: The mean NGAL level was found to be 174.42 ± 56.54, 249.44 ± 88.69, 56.04 ± 7.10 ng/ml in patients with early onset, late onset neonatal sepsis and in healthy subjects respectively (p<0.001). When the NGAL levels were compared between both groups, the specificity was 95%, sensitivity was 95%, negative estimation value was 86.4% and positive estimation value was 97.4%.and cut off level 88 ng/ml. Conclusion: these findings indicate that NGAL level is a good early indicator for the diagnosis of nenatal sepsis.

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