Umbilical cord serum procalcitonin, as an early diagnostic marker of early neonatal sepsis

Background and Objective: The prognosis of early neonatal sepsis is significantly associated with rapid diagnosis and appropriate antibiotic therapy. Since blood culture has been reported positive in less than 16% of neonatal sepsis cases, various biochemical markers have been evaluated. This study was performed to evaluate the umbilical cord blood procalcitonin (PCT) as an early diagnostic marker of early neonatal sepsis. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 neonates in two groups of case and control. The case group consisted of three separate groups, including proven, suspected and clinical sepsis groups. The PCT level of umbilical cord blood was measured by immunoluminoassay method, and PCT -0.5-2ng/ml, 2-10 ng/ml and 10ng/ml were considered weakly positive, positive and strongly positive, respectively. Sepsis screening tests and a culture taken from blood or other sterile fluids were studied in the case group. Findings: The PCT mean was 1.39 ±1.52 and 0.17 ±0.05ng/ml in the case (sepsis) and control groups, respectively. Finally, the PCT level was significantly higher in all cases in the proven sepsis group than in other sepsis groups. Conclusion: The result of this study showed that the mean value of PCT level in umbilical cord blood was higher in the sepsis group, and it was higher in the proven sepsis group than in the other two groups of sepsis.