Iraqi Journal of Hematology · Published 2025-07-01 · DOI 10.4103/ijh.ijh_59_25
BACKGROUND: Early and accurate diagnosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) is vital in improving survival and outcome in affected neonates. To date, no single inflammatory biomarker has demonstrated both high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of EONS. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore the role of the red cell distribution width-to-platelet ratio (RPR) and the platelet distribution width-to-platelet ratio (PPR) in the diagnosis of EONS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case–control study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, over 10 months. Cases included neonates with culture-positive EONS, while healthy controls were selected from the outpatient clinic in a ratio of case to control of 1:1. Sepsis screening was performed for all neonates within 12–24 h of life and composed of complete blood count, C-reactive protein, and bacterial culture and sensitivity. The results of complete blood counts, along with PPR and RPR values, were compared between cases and controls. RESULTS: A total of 352 neonates (176 cases and 176 controls) were included. There was no statistically significant difference in demographical characteristics between groups. The univariate analysis revealed that RPR was higher in the case group than the control group, P = 0.02. In contrast, PPR failed to show a statistically significant difference between cases and controls, P = 0.77. On the receiver operating characteristic analysis, RPR had a sensitivity of 88.4% and specificity of 36.4% for predicting sepsis. PPR had a sensitivity of 77.9% and specificity of 27.3% for predicting sepsis. CONCLUSION: RPR and PPR exhibit high sensitivity, making them useful as initial screening tools for EONS. However, their low specificity limits their reliability as standalone diagnostic markers.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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