An Unknown Risk Factor for Sepsis in Very Low Birth Weight Preterms: ABO Blood Groups (BGaPS Study)

Evaluation of systemic inflammatory indices in the diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis in very low birth weight infants

BACKGROUND

Previously, not six systemic inflammatory indices were evaluated in the diagnosis of early onset sepsis (EOS) in very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500g) premature infants.

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the effectiveness of systemic inflammatory indices in the diagnosis of EOS in VLBW infants.

METHODS

Premature infants with birth weight <1500 g were included in the study. Six systemic inflammatory indices including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) were compared in patients with EOS (treatment group) and without EOS (control group).

RESULTS

Of 917 infants enrolled, 204 infants were in the EOS group and 713 infants comprised the control group. NLR, MLR and SIRI values were significantly higher in the EOS group than in the control group (p < 0.001). The AUC value of SIRI for the predictivity of EOS was 0.803.

CONCLUSIONS

The SIRI can be used together with other parameters as both an easily accessible and the reliable systemic inflammatory indices in the diagnosis of EOS in VLBW preterm infants.

Relationship between thyroid function tests and small for gestational age in preterm newborns

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and clinical outcomes in preterm, small for gestational age (SGA) infants. Materials and Methods: The premature newborns (gestational age of ≤30 weeks) were divided into two groups as SGA and non-SGA. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels, the frequency of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), demographic and clinical characteristics, morbidity and mortality rate were compared between the groups. Results: A total of 430 premature newborns, 72 in the SGA group and 358 in the non-SGA group were included. The frequency of CH, morbidity, demographic and clinical characteristics were similar between two groups. The mortality rate was higher in SGA (36.1%) than in non-SGA group (13.6%). Serum fT4 level was lower in SGA group (1.04±0.30 ng/dl) compared to the non-SGA group (1.24±0.33 ng/dl). The serum TSH level was higher in SGA group (9.91 ± 5.6 uIU/L) than in non-SGA group (6.6 ± 5.2 uIU/L). Conclusion: The frequency of thyroid dysfunction was higher in preterm SGA infants compared to non-SGA, which was due to transiently high TSH and low fT4 concentrations. Therefore, thyroid function tests should be monitored periodically in preterm and SGA infants.