Early-onset sepsis: a cohort study comparing serial clinical observation with laboratory testing.

Objective: Early onset sepsis (EOS) remains a serious and potentially fatal illness. We aimed to demonstrate that serial clinical observation (SCO) is a feasible strategy associated with fewer laboratory evaluations and unnecessary antibiotic use.

Study Design: We compared the admissions and antibiotic therapy in neonates ≥35 weeks' gestation at risk for EOS in a prospective cohort after the implementation of a new protocol based on SCO (n = 381) with a historical cohort which received laboratory testing (n = 417).