Early procalcitonin assays may reduce antibiotic exposure in premature newborn infants.

Aim: The diagnosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) remains difficult. The main aim was to study the effect of a new algorithm for EOS, which includes the level of procalcitonin in umbilical cord blood, on the exposure to antibiotic therapy of premature newborn infants.

Methods: This was a monocentric, observational and retrospective study with before-and-after design.

An evaluation of the association between lockdown during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and prematurity at the Nice University Hospital.

Aim: To study the association between lockdown in France due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and premature births at the Nice University Hospital.

Methods: Data concerning neonates born at the level III maternity of the Nice University Hospital and immediately hospitalised in the neonatal reanimation unit or the neonatology department of the hospital with their mothers between the 1st of January 2017 and the 31st of December 2020, included.

Results: We did not find a significant decrease in the global number of premature births <37 weeks of gestation, in low weight at birth or a significant increase in stillbirths during lockdown compared to a period with no lockdown.

Procalcitonin in Preterm Neonates: A Different Threshold and Prolonged Interpretation.

To evaluate the positive threshold of PCT for neonates of <32 weeks of gestation for the diagnosis of early-onset sepsis and to determine if the level of PCT collected within 6 h of life could be used. Retrospective and bicentric study from May 2016 to April 2018. Two groups were established, neonates evaluated for PCT at birth (CordPCT) and within 6 h of life (delPCT).