RESUMO
Introduction Neonatal sepsis is a dynamic process where the rigorous evaluation of clinical signs along with appropriately selected biomarkers guides the diagnosis of sepsis. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are the two most commonly used diagnostic biomarkers used in sepsis. Sepsis remains the most important cause of mortality and morbidity in surgical neonates. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prognostic predictability of PCT and CRP in neonatal surgical sepsis. Methods All the neonates admitted to the neonatal surgical intensive care unit between January 2019 and December 2020 with features of sepsis were included in the study. Blood cultures, CRP, and PCT on Day one (PCT1) and Day three (PCT3) of suspicion of sepsis were evaluated. The receiver operating characteristics curve was studied to estimate the probability of two markers to predict the mortality in neonatal sepsis. Results Of 102 surgical neonates, 63 neonates had early-onset sepsis while 23 (22.5%) neonates died and 30 neonates reported positive blood culture. There was a decline in the overall PCT trend from PCT1 and PCT3, while a significant PCT rise was noted for the non-survival group (p= 0.003). At cut-off of 5 mg/dl for CRP and 2.5 ng/dl for PCT1 and PCT3, the sensitivity (36.0%, 25.8%, 100%), specificity (84.1%, 83.3%, 97.5%), positive predictive value (52.2%, 73.9%, 91.3%), and negative predictive values (73.4%, 38.0%, 100%) were observed. Conclusion PCT on Day three of suspected sepsis has higher sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for prognostication of surgical neonatal sepsis at the cut-off value of 2.5 ng/ml. The rising trend of PCT levels is indicative of a poor prognosis.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is currently considered as an alternative to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt systems in the treatment of obstructive hydrocephalus. This procedure allows the CSF to drain in the basal cisterns and reabsorbed by arachnoid granulations, and avoiding implantation of exogenous material. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the success rate of ETV in infants less than 1 year of age with congenital noncommunicating hydrocephalus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was a 2-year prospective study from August 2017 to July 2019. ETVs were performed in 14 patients younger than 1 year with diagnosis of noncommunicating hydrocephalous. A failure was defined as the need for shunt implantation after ETV. Phase-contrast MRI of the brain was done after 6 months to see patency of ETV fenestration and CSF flow through ventriculostomy. RESULTS: ETV was tried in 18 patients and successfully performed in 14 patients. Out of the 14 patients, shunt implantation after ETV was performed in 3 patients (failed ETV). In the successful cases, etiology was idiopathic aqueductal stenosis in 8, shunt complications in 2, and 1 case was a follow-up case of occipital encephalocele; the mean age was 7.7 months (range 3-12). In the 3 failed cases, etiology was aqueductal stenosis, mean age was 7.6 months (range 3-11). In all ETVs, failed patients MPVP shunting was done. Follow-up of nonshunted patients was done from 6 to 24 months (mean 15 months). There was no mortality or permanent morbidity noted following ETV. CONCLUSION: ETV is a good surgical procedure for less than 1-year-old children.
