Role of Micro ESR in Evaluation of Neonatal Sepsis

Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is one of the leading causes of hospital admission and neonatal death in Nepal. Though blood culture is gold standard in diagnosis, it is time consuming and demands a well-equipped laboratory, since early diagnosis is crucial, Micro ESR can be cheap and less time-consuming alternative for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. This study shows the role of Micro-ESR in rapid screening of neonatal sepsis. Materials and Method: This cross sectional, observational study was conducted in Kanti children Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal from Nov.2018 to Dec.2019. The total number of participants was 72. Sample blood was collected in standard 75mm heparinized micro-hematocrit tube. Height of plasma column was measured after 1 hour. Result: Micro- ESR was positive in sixteen cases of proven sepsis and 35 cases of probable sepsis (P-value:0.002). Micro ESR was also more positive in CRP positive cases (P-value:0.04). sensitivity and specificity of this test were 100 and 39.65 respectively. Conclusion: Micro- ESR can be used as screening tool for neonatal sepsis. It has high sensitivity and low specificity.