Neonatal late onset sepsis: the use of TNF-alpha as a marker for antibiotic sensitivity

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Early and accurate treatment of an infant with suspected sepsis is the gold for his survival. Cytokines are important proinflammatory mediators in the early phases of the sepsis syndrome. Recent investigations have demonstrated that some antibiotics, in addition to their antimicrobial effects, can interfere with cytokine production. This study was designed to determine the level of serum TNF-alpha in late neonatal septicemia [LOS] before and after antibiotic therapy to assess its role as a marker of success or failure of such therapy