Diagnostic and prognostic value of the presepsin level in inflammatory infectious diseases in preterm newborns

Zhuravleva L.N., Novikova V.I.

Vitebsk State Medical University, Vitebsk, Belarus

Introduction. Infectious pathology in newborns occupies a leading place in the practice of a neonatologist. However, signs of infectious diseases in newborns are often non-specific and difficult for interpretation. Therefore, there is a necessity for specific and sensitive biomarkers for the diagnosis of the infectious process in newborns.

The aim of our work was to determine the level of presepsin in newborns in the presence of an infectious and inflammatory disease.

Material and methods. We observed 16 newborns with generalized infection specific for the perinatal period, 20 newborns with congenital pneumonia, and 15 newborns from comparison group without infectious and inflammatory pathology.

Results. Traditional biomarkers of inflammatory reactions, such as procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP), were not so accurate in prediction of inflammatory diseases in newborns. We’ve revealed significant increase serum PSP level in children on the first days of life with infectious diseases (358.9 [279.8 - 675.7]) and generalized infection (658.9 [378,8 – 1456,8]). During the correlation analysis we’ve found a significant (p <0.05) positive correlation between the PSP serum concentration on days 1-2 and duration of mechanical ventilation (R = 0.34; p = 0.02). We’ve found that on 1-2 days of life presepsin serum level more than 670 ng / l in premature infants with an infectious disease can be used as a diagnostic criteria of a generalized form of inflammation.