Presepsin Emerges as a Promising Early Biomarker for Perinatal Sepsis Detection
This review evaluates presepsin as an early diagnostic marker of neonatal sepsis, noting its advantages over CRP and procalcitonin in the perinatal context where standard biomarkers can be confounded by gestational age, birth weight, and hypoxia. Presepsin levels rise rapidly with monocyte phagocytic activation and decline with effective antibiotic treatment, providing a real-time infection signal. Future development of non-invasive measurement in biological fluids could further reduce sampling burden in high-risk neonates.
The original study
Perinatal presepsin assessment: a new sepsis diagnostic tool?
- Authors
- Botondi V, D'Adamo E, Plebani M, Trubiani O, Perrotta M, Di Ricco L, et al.
- Journal
- Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 35562321
Original abstract
Perinatal sepsis constitutes a medical emergency and is still one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity. The possibility of an early diagnosis of sepsis is still debated and controversial. In particular, clinical symptoms can be hidden by the association of sepsis with other perinatal diseases and/or by therapeutic strategies performed. In this context, there is evidence that the accuracy of standard of care diagnostic parameters (i.e. blood culture, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin) can be biased by additional confounding factors (gestational age, birth-weight, acute-chronic hypoxia). Therefore, the inclusion in clinical daily practice of new biomarkers of sepsis is of utmost importance. Of a panel of biomarkers, Presepsin (P-SEP) plays an important role in the development and response of the immune system and as an early marker of sepsis both in adult and pediatric patients. Therefore, in the present review we aim to offer an overview of the role of P-SEP in the early detection of perinatal sepsis as a trustworthy marker according to actual statements of official international institutions. Future perspectives regard the possibility of a longitudinal non-invasive biological fluids P-SEP assessment thus limiting the sample stress in high risk newborns.