ŞULE TOPRAK, MERYEM ALBAYRAK, DİDEM ALİEFENDİOĞLU
Journal of Current Hematology & Oncology Research - 2025;3(1):1-5
Aims: Early recognition of neonatal sepsis, which is an important cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity, contributes positively to clinical outcomes. Although culture methods are the gold standard for diagnosis, they take time and can delay critical treatment decisions. Therefore, there is a need for validation of easily accessible, cost-effective practical approaches in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Our study aimed to evaluate the leukocyte and platelet counts as diagnostic markers in early neonatal sepsis. Methods: In our prospective study, the contribution of platelet and leukocyte counts to the diagnostic accuracy of two groups of patients diagnosed with sepsis (group I) and without sepsis (group II) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were evaluated on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. Results: The group diagnosed with sepsis showed a significant difference in terms of low platelet count and platelet reduction rates. The specificity and sensitivity of thrombocytopenia in the diagnosis of sepsis were 88.8% and 81.3%, respectively. In addition, thrombocytopenia in the early period was informative about the unfavorable prognosis. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that thrombocytopenia can be used as a red flag for early sepsis diagnosis.
