PLASMA ANTITHROMBIN AND PROTEIN C LEVELS IN EARLY RECOGNITION OF LATE-ONSET SEPSIS IN NEWBORN INFANTS ADMITTED TO NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT BENHA SPECIALIZED CHILDREN HOSPITAL

doi:10.21608/azjp.2021.194398

PLASMA ANTITHROMBIN AND PROTEIN C LEVELS IN EARLY RECOGNITION OF LATE-ONSET SEPSIS IN NEWBORN INFANTS ADMITTED TO NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT BENHA SPECIALIZED CHILDREN HOSPITAL

Document Type : Original Article

10.21608/azjp.2021.194398

Abstract

Background: Late-onset infections present after delivery, or beyond 3 to 7 days of age, and are attributed to organisms acquired from interaction with the hospital environment or the community. Blood culture is the gold standard for the diagnosis of sepsis in newborns, but the long waiting time for results and the high level of false-negatives that are secondary to insufficient quantity of sample, contamination, can lead to delays and errors in diagnosis. Therefore, various biochemical markers are used to aid decision making regarding antibiotic therapy in neonatal sepsis.
Nevertheless, no current biochemical marker can provide perfect diagnostic accuracy. Antithrombin and protein C (PC) play a major role in the regulation of coagulation, shifting thrombin from procoagulant to anticoagulant.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the Plasma Antithrombin and protein C levels in early recognition of late-onset sepsis in newborns. The study is also designed to determine the possible relationship between the types of bacteria and the values of plasma Antithrombin and Protein C levels.
Subjects and Methods: This is a hospital based prospective study conducted on 60 neonates with suspected LOS & 30 neonates as control at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Benha children hospital during the period from October 2019 to February 2020. They were selected by simple random method. The studied neonates were classified into three groups: 1-Control group consists of 30 healthy neonates. 2-sepsis non confirmed group consists of 30 neonates (-ve blood culture). 3-sepsis confirmed group consists of 30 neonates (+ve blood culture).
All groups were subjected to complete history taking, clinical examination, Serum Plasma Antithrombin and protein C levels were measured.