Diagnostic value of cytokines and C-reactive protein in the first 24 hours of neonatal sepsis.

The first objective of this article was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in differentiating infected from noninfected neonates during the first 24 hours of suspected sepsis and to compare them to the currently used laboratory parameters: C-reactive protein (CRP), immature-to-total neutrophil ratio, and leukocyte and platelet count. The secondary objective was to compare the cytokine levels in subpopulations of neonates. Seventy-five premature and 30 term infants were enrolled.

Lymphocyte subpopulations in bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

A key role for inflammation in the etiology of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has been proposed. In the present study we have evaluated lymphocyte subpopulations in 39 premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) who did or did not develop BPD. The absolute number of lymphocytes was lower among infants with RDS who developed BPD compared with those who did not over the first two weeks of life ( p < 0.

Soluble E-selectin, soluble L-selectin and soluble ICAM-1 in bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and changes with dexamethasone.

Objective: To evaluate longitudinal change in arterial blood plasma levels of soluble adhesion molecules in infants of <30 weeks' gestation with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and to look for differences in these levels in neonates who subsequently developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) compared with those neonates who did not, and also to investigate the effect of dexamethasone treatment on levels of soluble adhesion molecules in plasma.

Methods: We measured plasma concentrations of soluble L-selectin (sL-selectin), soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 of life and before and 2 to 3 days after initiating a 6-day course of dexamethasone treatment. Infants with RDS were followed until discharge and were classified as non-BPD and either 1) BPD day 28 reflecting oxygen requirement on day 28 but not at 36 corrected weeks or 2) BPD 36 weeks reflecting oxygen requirement at 36 (corrected) weeks' gestation.

Basement membrane biomarkers in very low birth weight premature infants. Association with length of NICU stay and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Basement membranes, critical for vital organs like the lungs, consist of two interwoven homopolymers, one assembled by type IV collagens and one by laminins. We hypothesized their serum antigens C-IV and P1, respectively, to be global measures for the maturity of these organs. In 39 very low birth weight premature neonates (means: gestational age, 25.