Clinical characteristics and laboratory test in full-term neonates with sepsis in Vietnam National Children’s Hospital (Northern Vietnam)

Background. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in response to an infectious agent, causing damage to organs. Sepsis causes serious consequences in neonates due to high rates of mortality, sequelae, and disability. The Southeast Asian country of Vietnam features on of the highest infectious disease rates in the world (high rates of infection, disability and mortality), as well as being a middle-income country with a stratified health care system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients at the Vietnam National Children’s Hospital. Materials and methods. This descriptive study was conducted with 85 full-term infants with sepsis admitted to Vietnam National Children’s Hospital in the period from December 2019 to April 2021. Patients had at least 2 clinical symptoms and 2 laboratory signs according to the criteria for assessment of neonatal sepsis (European Medicines Agency in 2010) along with positive blood culture results. Results. Common clinical symptoms in neonates with sepsis included poor feeding (89.4%), respiratory failure (69.4%), fever (51.8%), tachycardia (52.8%), and shock (25%). Anemic patients accounted for many (72.9%). Patients with increased white blood counts accounted for 41.2%. Newborns with a low white blood count accounted for 15.4%. Patients with thrombocytopenia were 49.6%. Most patients had elevated CRP (88.3%). The mean value of nCD64 was 10167.1±6136.9 molecules bound/cell. mHLA-DR was 9898.4±14173.9 molecules bound/cell. The Sepsis Index was 274.6±287.5. Conclusions. We recorded differences in clinical characteristics and laboratory tests in full-term neonates with sepsis at National Children’s Hospital, of which, nCD64, mHLA-DR, and Sepsis Index should be further investigated and referred to as prospective routine biomarkers in diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.