Assessment of plasma concentrations of growth arrest-specific protein 6 in preterm infants with late-onset sepsis

Introduction
Late-onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm infants is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity.


Aim
To assess the level of plasma growth arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) in preterm infants with LOS and correlate its level with other clinical and laboratory factors in those patients.


Patients and methods
This is a case–control study that was carried out on 90 preterm newborns admitted at Ghamra Military Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. All patients were divided into three groups: group 1 included 30 preterm infants with confirmed LOS and positive blood culture; group 2 included 30 preterm infants with clinically evident LOS and negative blood culture, and group 3 (control group) included 30 nonseptic preterm infants. The preterm infants were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, and all investigations, including Gas6, done by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.


Results
Our results showed a highly statistically significant increase in Gas6 in groups 1 and 2 rather than group 3, with P value less than 0.001. Moreover, there was a highly statistically significant increase in Gas6 in group 1 rather than group 2.


Conclusion
Our results indicate that Gas6 is an accurate biomarker for the diagnosis of LOS.