Presepsin (soluble CD14 subtype) in term and preterm newborns
Background:
Sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns, especially in preterm infants.
Several biochemical markers (C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6, etc.) have been
proposed over the past years to diagnose and manage neonatal sepsis. However, these markers have
a low diagnostic accuracy in neonatal infections. Recently, presepsin (soluble CD14 subtype,
sCD14-ST), a circulating molecule fragment derived from sCD14, has been shown to be beneficial
as sepsis marker. Nevertheless, few data are available on the usefulness of presepsin in the
diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.