Neonatal sepsis: confronting the challenge

The challenge of neonatal sepsis is reviewed and updated, and the incidence and importance of microbial pathogens are addressed. Important maternal, neonatal, and environmental risk factors responsible for increasing the incidence of neonatal sepsis are reviewed. Underlying the neonate's susceptibility to sepsis is the markedly limited immunologic defense of the neonate. The neonate's humoral, cellular, and barrier defense limitations are analyzed with respect to how each alters host susceptibility. The clinical manifestations and progression of sepsis in the neonate are reviewed and the status of new therapeutic approaches is examined. Ways that nurses can assist in the prevention and limitation of disability from neonatal sepsis are provided.