Low levels of platelets, a type of red blood cells that are deployed to stem bleeding, are an important indicator of disease severity in newborn children with sepsis, according to a study published in the International Journal of Academic Medicine and Pharmacy.
Low platelet levels are a particularly severe problem in fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT).
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the body mounts an overwhelming response to an infection. The response may be so overwhelming so as to severely harm the body, causing organ damage and potentially death.
Newborn sepsis remains a significant health challenge. Studies estimate that approximately 1.3 to 3.9 million newborns die from sepsis every year. Newborn sepsis is a particularly severe health challenge in developing nations.
Read more about FNAIT treatment and care.
Researchers sought to investigate whether low levels of platelets (a condition known as thrombocytopenia) are associated with the severity of newborn sepsis. If an association is present, a low platelet count can be used as an early warning sign of the risk of sepsis.
The research team in this study observed the clinical course of 107 newborn children who were diagnosed with neonatal sepsis at an intensive care unit between January and June 2024. Specifically, they looked into cases of sepsis that were positive for bacteria according to a blood culture (which is a process to determine the presence of certain bacteria).
The researchers found that roughly half of culture-positive newborn sepsis had concurrent thrombocytopenia. The relationship between thrombocytopenia and the presence of certain bacteria varied; in some cases, no association was discovered, but in other cases, such as with Enterococcus coli, 83.33% of cases had thrombocytopenia.
Infants with both thrombocytopenia and sepsis appeared to be at a higher risk of death. Among 49 newborns with thrombocytopenia, 18 (36.73%) cases resulted in death. However, among 58 newborns with sepsis but normal platelet levels, only 5 (8.62%) resulted in mortality.
“This study highlights thrombocytopenia as a significant hematological abnormality in neonatal sepsis, with a strong association between low platelet counts and increased mortality,” the research team concluded.
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