ASSESMENT OF HAEMATOLOGICAL SCORING SYSTEM IN EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF NEONATAL SEPSIS IN TERM AND PRE-TERM NEONATES

*Dr. Samiksha Ahlawat, Dr. Nasib Chand, Dr. Sonia Mehta, Dr. A.K. Bhardwaj, Dr. Varuni Yadav, Dr. Rahul Jain

ABSTRACT

Title: Assessment of haematological scoring system and its importance in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis in term and pre-term neonates. Background: Systemic infection in the newborn is the commonest cause of neonatal mortality in developing countries. The objectives of our study was to evaluate the utility of haematological scoring system in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis in pre-term and term neonates and to correlate these haematological parameters with blood culture results. Material and methods: This study wasconducted on all neonates during 1st week of life presenting in Neonatal ICU, MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala. A total of 85 neonates with clinically suspicious sepsis were included and were simultaneously confirmed by blood culture. Results: The study showed 12 (14.1%) neonates with sepsis likely, 27 (31.8%) with sepsis suspected and 46 (54.1%) neonates with sepsis unlikely based on HSS. Overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for HSS was 93.55%, 81.48%, 74.36% and 95.65% respectively. Highest sensitivity was observed for the parameter total PMN count i.e. 96.77% followed by degenerative changes with a sensitivity of 90.32%.

Keywords: Haematological scoring system, neonatal sepsis.