Clinical Relevance of Pathogens Detected by Multiplex PCR in Blood of Very-Low-Birth Weight Infants with Suspected Sepsis – Multicentre Study of the German Neonatal Network

摘要

IntroductionIn the German Neonatal Network (GNN) 10% of very-low-birth weight infants (VLBWI) suffer from blood-culture confirmed sepsis, while 30% of VLBWI develop clinical sepsis. Diagnosis of sepsis is a difficult task leading to potential over-treatment with antibiotics. This study aims to investigate whether the results of blood multiplex-PCR (SeptiFast^®) for common sepsis pathogens are relevant for clinical decision making when sepsis is suspected in VLBWI.