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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Neonatal septicemia is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Neonatal septicemia is difficult to diagnose clinically. Most of the neonatal sepsis related deaths are preventable if suspected early and treated with appropriate antibiotics. A study was carried out to compare the results of C-reactive protein tests and buffy coat smear examination and find their correlation with blood culture for diagnosis of neonatal septicemia. The study was conducted at tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra state, central India. Blood samples from 251 clinically suspected cases of neonatal septicemia were subjected to aerobic culture, C-reactive protein test and buffy coat smear examination by Gram’s staining. Of the 251 cases of neonatal septicemia (age group 0-28 days) 156 had positive CRP test and 101 were buffy coat smear positive. Blood culture was positive in 142 cases with predominant organism being Staphylococcus aureus followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae. CRP test showed 88.03% sensitivity and 71.56% specificity, while buffy coat smear examination showed 64.79% sensitivity and 91.74% specificity. As blood culture reports takes 48-72 hours, combination of CRP test and buffy coat smear examination will be very helpful in early diagnosis of neonatal septicemia.