C-reactive protein levels in the first days of life: a systematic statistical approach.

OBJECTIVE: Microbial neonatal infections are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality and for this reason there is a growing interest for new approaches in the clinical government of this human affection. Using an integrated statistical model, this work investigated the role of the C-reactive protein (CRP) in the diagnosis of sepsis and therapy assessment in newborns admitted in neonatal intensive care unit. METHODS: 386 newborns admitted in neonatal intensive care unit were enrolled in this work. Different clinical-laboratory parameters, such as: CRP level, blood culture, complete blood cell count, urine and other blood tests were assessed for the first 7 days after birth. Several statistical methods have been used to estimate the correlation CRP-septicaemia, using Chi-squared, Pearson, analysis of the variance and Poisson distribution. RESULTS: a statistical positive correlation (CRP value vs. septicaemia status) was observed to integrate the analysis of the variance and Poisson distribution methods, especially in the first days after birth. CONCLUSION: A correct statistical evaluation of CRP values could be significant for risk prediction and subsequent prompt therapy in neonatal sepsis.