immediate diagnosis of early onset sepsis in premature newborns by measurement of cord c-reactive protein and interleukin-6

background: the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between early onset sepsis and increased levels of c-reactive protein (crp) and interleukin-6 (il-6) in cord plasma.   methods: a prospective study was conducted in 141 premature infants delivered with gestational ages of 26-35 weeks. il-6 and cpr were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay in the cord plasma of the neonates. according to clinical, laboratory findings and blood culture results, newborn infants were allocated into four groups (a-d): documented early onset infection, clinical sepsis, possible infection, and control groups respectively.   results: mean il-6 levels in group a-d was 264, 212, 160, and 33.3 pg/ml respectively. difference between groups was statistically significant (p=.002). with cut off point of 18 pg/ml, the sensitivity and specificity of il-6 for diagnosis of early onset sepsis was 72% and 55% respectively.  there was not significant difference between mean levels of crp among groups (p=0.28).   conclusion: having considered the relatively good sensitivity and moderate specificity of cord il-6, using this test can be recommended as a useful detector of early onset sepsis and non-infected sick neonates.