Diagnostic utility of the systemic immune-inflammatory index in preterm neonates with late-onset sepsis

Abstract

Objective: To assess if systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) has a diagnostic role for late-onset sepsis (LOS) in premature neonates. Patients and Methods: A single-center retrospective observational study including preterm infants with culture-proven LOS and controls was conducted between January 2017 and December 2022. SII was derived using complete blood count values acquired at the beginning of and three to five days before LOS. SII was compared between the LOS group and controls. Results: A total of 144 infants were included in the study. The SII values of the LOS group were found to be significantly increased in comparison to the control group [376.74 (11.11 – 15170) vs. 235.24 (46.83 – 1214.38) (median, min-max), P =0.018]. The SII values significantly increased when pre-sepsis and LOS values were compared [200.6 (0 – 1295.78) vs. 328.28 (0 – 14678, P