title: C-reactive protein levels in the first days of life: a systematic statistical approach.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A correct statistical evaluation of CRP values could be significant for risk prediction and subsequent prompt therapy in neonatal sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Microbiology Lab Services AOU-Cagliari, Presidio San Giovanni di Dio, via Ospedale 46, Cagliari, Italy. coghe.f@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Coghe
authors.forename: Germano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orrù
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferraguti
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Accossu
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Faa
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erriu
authors.forename: Pierpaolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coni
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Denotti
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pautasso
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mussap
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fanos
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein