Measurement of interleukin 8 in combination with C-reactive protein reduced unnecessary antibiotic therapy in newborn infants: a multicenter, randomized, controlled …
AR Franz, K Bauer, A Schalk, SM Garland… - …, 2004 - publications.aap.org
Objective. Neonatal bacterial infections carry a high mortality when diagnosed late. Early
diagnosis is difficult because initial clinical signs are nonspecific. Consequently, physicians
frequently prescribe antibiotic treatment to newborn infants for fear of missing a life-
threatening infection. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that a diagnostic
algorithm that includes measurements of interleukin 8 (IL-8) and C-reactive protein (CRP) 1)
reduces antibiotic therapy and 2) does not result in more initially missed infections …
diagnosis is difficult because initial clinical signs are nonspecific. Consequently, physicians
frequently prescribe antibiotic treatment to newborn infants for fear of missing a life-
threatening infection. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that a diagnostic
algorithm that includes measurements of interleukin 8 (IL-8) and C-reactive protein (CRP) 1)
reduces antibiotic therapy and 2) does not result in more initially missed infections …