C-reactive protein-guided approach may shorten length of antimicrobial treatment of culture-proven late-onset sepsis: an intervention study

Late-onset sepsis (LOS) (i.e., sepsis in a neonate after 72 hours of life) is associated with high mortality and significantly prolonged antibiotic exposure and hospital stay in neonates admitted to intensive care units (ICU). In this study, we assessed the reliability of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as a determinant of antimicrobial treatment duration of LOS. From January 1996 to December 2002, all consecutive infants aged <28 days admitted to a single medical-surgical ICU and diagnosed with primary LOS were enrolled in a prospective, intervention trial with historical controls. Only blood ...