[Neonatal sepsis and perinatal risk factors]

Numerous studies have identified perinatal risk factors of neonatal sepsis. Some authors have attempted to develop a score system and have shown that babies with septicemia usually had a significantly higher score than healthy newborns and infants with other diseases. The aim of our study is to verify the validity of a scoring method based on the following items: maternal disease; e.g. diabetes, severe toxemia, infection; rupture of the membranes more than 24 hours before the delivery; foul-smelling amniotic fluid; complicated delivery; Apgar score less than 7; umbilical catheterization; respiratory distress and other neonatal diagnoses leading to operative procedures. We have evaluated four groups of babies, full-term AGA and SGA and preterm AGA and SGA, 84 with septicemia, 105 with other diseases and 210 healthy newborn infants. None of the perinatal risk factors or neonatal diseases was sufficiently predictive of neonatal septicemia. Only the incidence of umbilical catheterization was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in preterm AGA (37.1%) and SGA (64.7%) babies with septicemia than in preterm healthy AGA (2.8%) and SGA (7.7%) babies; on the contrary, no statistical differences were found between preterm AGA (37.1%) and SGA (64.7%) infants with septicemia and preterm AGA (42.8%) and SGA (66.6%) infants with other neonatal diseases. A score of 1 was assigned for each of the considered items. In the full-term infants a score of 1 or less was found in 100% of the healthy infants. A score of 2-3 was found in 26% of the septicemic infants and in 42% of the infants with other diseases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)