Correlation Between Gastric Aspirate Polymorphs and Neonatal Sepsis.: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Neonatal septicaemia remains a signicant cause of morbidity and mortality in newborn infants. Neonatal sepsis is difcult for diagnosing clinically because the symptoms and signs are not always readily apparent. Recently, microscopic appearances of uid from gastric aspirate (GA) have been used as evidence of bacterial sepsis acquired in utero. Therefore, the present study was conducted to study the correlation between gastric aspirate polymorphs and neonatal sepsis. The Material and Methods: present study was observational cross-sectional study carried out at Department of Paediatrics of tertiary care centre during July 2023 to June 2024. A total of 102 neonates who had the clinical symptoms and signs of suspected neonatal sepsis admitted in hospital was included in the study population. Each patient was subjected to a detailed physical examination and history. Blood samples were taken at admission and subjected to TLC and CRP. Simultaneously, the blood sample for sensitivity and blood culture was taken. Simple, sterilized tubes containing the gastric aspiration were sent for cytology. The statistical software namely SPSS 22.0 used for the analysis of the data. A total of 102 neonates Results: were screened for neonatal sepsis among which majority of the patients were males 54 (52.94%). Among them 43 (42.16%) were term and 59 (57.84%) were preterm. The majority of neonates positive for CRP (70.58%) followed by GA polymorphs (65.68%), blood culture (54.91%) and TLC. (25.49%) GA polymorphs was found to be highly sensitive parameter. (96.43%) Gastric aspirate po Conclusion: lymorphs as a screening tool for neonatal sepsis with good sensitivity and specicity serves as good tool for neonatal screening