RESUMO
The objective of this work was to evaluate the role of IL-8 and G-CSF in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis and to determine if they are helpful in planning strategies to safely reduce the use of antimicrobials in neonates with clkinical signs of sepsis. IL-8 and G-CSF were measured in serum by ELISA technique, along with blood cultures, CRP, CBC including immature-to-total neutrophil [I/T] ratio for 36 neonates [22 term and 14 preterm] with suspected sepsis and 15 healthy neonates as controls. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated for IL-8, G-CSF, CRP and I/T ratio. Serum levels of IL-8 and G-CSF were significantly higher in infected group as compared to the control group, but there were no significant differences of serum levels of both markers between full term and preterm neonates, and also between cases with positive blood cultures and those with negative blood cultures. There were positive correlations between both markers with band cells%, I/T ratio and CRP, but no correlations were found with gestational age, Hb%, platelet count and total leucocytic count. The best sensitivity was observed with combined IL-8 and CRP [94.6%], followed by IL-8 [90%], G-CSF combined with CRP [89%] and IL-8 with G-CSF [88.3%]