Neonatal sepsis; A New Paradigm in Laboratory Diagnosis

Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, necessitating rapid and accurate diagnostic methods to initiate proper treatment. Traditional blood cultures, while considered the gold standard for diagnosing sepsis, have limitations such as low sensitivity and prolonged time to results, which can delay critical therapeutic interventions. Various biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-8 are used for diagnosis of sepsis. However, these biomarkers may also be elevated in noninfectious conditions such as premature rupture of membranes, fetal distress and perinatal asphyxia, resulting in false positive results and low specificity for neonatal sepsis The amplification of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has emerged as a promising alternative due to its potential for rapid and sensitive detection of bacterial pathogens. The diagnostic test must be rapid and sensitive to improve the outcome associated with neonatal sepsis and to avoid over use of antibiotics.