Abstract

BACKGROUND Neonatal sepsis is a clinical syndrome characterized by systemic signs of infection accompanied by bacteraemia, within the first four weeks of life (28 days). Neonatal sepsis is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal period. The gold standard method for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis is the isolation of microorganism from blood. Blood culture takes more than three days for complete result and requires well equipped laboratory and trained personnel. The outcome and prognosis of neonatal sepsis depends on early diagnosis and timely initiation of antibiotic therapy. Therefore, our study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Procalcitonin in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis in comparison with the gold standard Blood culture.

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