Predictive Utility of the Hematological Scoring System (HSS) for Improved Neonatal Sepsis Diagnosis in an Indian Setting – A Single Centre Study

Background

Neonatal sepsis continues to be a major contributor to morbidity and mortality especially in resource-limited settings. Early diagnosis may be aided by the Hematological Scoring System (HSS). The present study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the HSS as a diagnostic tool for early-onset neonatal sepsis.Methods: This prospective observational study included 140 neonates with suspected sepsis. Blood samples were analysed by manual and automated methods to calculate HSS scores. Diagnostic performance metrics such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value (NPV) were assessed. Inter-observer agreement for manual counts was assessed using Bland-Altman Plots.