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Review
. 2006 May;91(3):F208-12.
doi: 10.1136/adc.2004.064188.

Newer approaches to the diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis

U K Mishra  1 , S E Jacobs, L W Doyle, S M Garland
Affiliations
Review

Newer approaches to the diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis

U K Mishra et al. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2006 May.

Abstract

Accurate and timely diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis remains challenging to the clinician and the laboratory. A test with a rapid turnaround time with 100% sensitivity, rather than high specificity, which allows accurate diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial treatment or which allows antibiotics to be safely withheld in non-infected infants, is desirable. Many potential markers (acute phase reactants, cell surface markers, cytokines) are not routinely available to the laboratory, and most likely combinations of markers will ensure greater diagnostic accuracy. In the future, molecular biology techniques offer the prospect of rapid identification of both pathogens and antimicrobial resistance markers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: none declared

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