A study on blood culture positivity and C-reactive protein variability in neonatal septicaemia at neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital.

Neonatal septicaemia is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Blood culture is the gold standard for diagnosis of neonatal septicaemia. Several laboratory investigations are available to detect neonatal sepsis, one important is 'sepsis screen' which includes C-reactive protein (CRP), micro -ESR, total WBC count including immature to mature (VT) ratio and absolute neutrophil count. Blood culture was done among 210 samples from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), RG Kar Medical College with suspected septicaemia along with CRP estimation. Among all the parameters, clinical correlation of CRP is significant; 65.2% of patients has blood culture positive. CRP positivity varied in different organisms. CRP is a non-specific acute phase reactant and rises significantly after 12 hours onwards. It can be used as an important parameter in infant at risk of septicaemia (significant > 6 mg/dl) and early institution of antimicrobials therapy. It has got prognostic value.