Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Neonatal sepsis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. As clinical manifestations of neonatal sepsis are nonspecific, early diagnosis and treatment remain a challenge. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute-phase protein secreted by various cells in response to the proinflammatory signals. Our aim was to investigate the diagnostic value of PTX3 in neonatal sepsis.
METHODS:
We studied 90 neonates; 60 with culture-proven sepsis and 30 healthy neonates as a control group. Serum levels of PTX 3 were measured by ELISA.
RESULTS:
Neonates with sepsis had significantly higher levels of PTX 3 as compared to controls (p < 0.001). Diagnostic cutoff value of PTX 3 was 5.6 μg/L with a sensitivity of 98.3% and a specificity of 96.7%. PTX 3 was significantly increased in nonsurvivors when compared to survivors (p < 0.001). PTX3 had better sensitivity when compared with CRP.
CONCLUSION:
PTX 3 could be used as a new biomarker of neonatal sepsis with high sensitivity and specificity.
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