Short-term prognosis of definitive neonatal infection

Neonatal sepsis is a severe systemic bacterial infection that affects on premature neonates prognosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term prognosis of neonate's infection.

The present study is a cross-sectional study that was performed on 729 neonates suspected of infection, in neonatal ward in Ghaem Hospital of Mashhad since May 2015 to May 2022 by available sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made checklist containing neonatal characteristics (gestational age, birth weight, first and fifth minute Apgar score, and neonatal status at discharge) and laboratory information (White Blood Cell, Platelet (PLT), C-reactive Protein, Blood culture, Cerebrospinal fluid culture). Infants with congenital infection, congenital anomaly and positive blood cultures without clinical and laboratory symptoms were excluded from the study. Neonatal prognosis was compared in terms of death or discharge among neonates with and without definitive infection. First, we described the results using statistical tables and graphs, and then, data were analyzed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov, T test and SPSS software, version 26 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA). P<0.05 considered as significant.

According to the results of this study, low birth weight and lower gestational age and lower Apgar score increase the risk of neonatal death. About one-fifth of infants died of definitive infection. The cases of death due to infection in the group of deceased infants were about 4 times higher than in the group of discharged infants. About one third of the babies with sepsis and half of the babies with meningitis died. Forty-four percent of infants with early sepsis and 40% of infants with late sepsis died. In cases of neonatal death due to sepsis, the most common gram-negative infectious agent was Acinetobacter and the most common gram-positive infectious agent was Enterococcus.

Neonatal definitive infection worsens their prognosis. So, the risk of neonatal death increases by 5 times. The probability of death in meningitis is more than sepsis and in early sepsis is more than late sepsis and in sepsis due to gram-negative is more than gram-positive.