RESUMO
Sepsis associated with acute organ dysfunction results from a generalized inflammatory and procoagulant response to an infection. Activated protein C, an endogenous protein that promotes fibrinolysis and inhibits thrombosis and inflammation, is an important modulator of coagulation and inflammation associated with severe sepsis. The study was conducted on twenty neonates fulfilling criteria of neonatal sepsis clinically and by laboratory investigations. Twenty healthy neonates were assigned as control group. We measured protein C level by enzyme immunoassay in both cases and control groups within 24 hours of diagnosis. Results of this study showed that there was decrease in level of protein C in neonates with sepsis when compared to control group, and this difference was statistically significant, although there was no cases in our study suffering from frank coagulation disturbances. Also gestational age, birth weight, and duration of illness were predictors of lower protein C level in study cases when doing regression analysis. We recommend larger study with measurement of levels of other protein C system in serum like active protein C and thrombomodulin assays