[Proposed scoring system for the early diagnosis of infection in neonates]

Infections are currently often responsible for neonatal morbidity and mortality. The present study examines the possibility of reducing this incidence by the early diagnosis of infections. With this in mind the early clinical signs of infection were examined as well as the results of certain quickly and easily performed blood and blood chemical tests which were scored from 0 to 2. The results showed that newborns with scores less than 5 should be considered free of sepsis, those scoring 5-7 should arouse suspicion of sepsis, while sepsis should be considered definitely present in those scoring greater than 7. This scoring system presented 100% sensitivity, 88.2% specificity as well as 100% positive and an 88.2% negative predictive value. The system is therefore considered reliable as well as easy to use.