TRANSCRANIAL DOPPLER EVALUATION OF CEREBRAL HEMODYNAMIC ALTERATION IN PRETERM NEONATES WITH EARLY ONSET SEPSIS - A ONE YEAR HOSPITAL BASED OBSERVATIONAL STUDY AT KLE DR. PRABHAKAR KORE HOSPITAL”

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of early neonatal sepsis occurs between days 0 and 3 of neonatal life .In the first 24 hours of birth, 85% of infants with early-onset sepsis will show signs of illness. Development of sepsis has been linked to the ingestion of maternally acquired bacteria. There is a theoretical possibility of hegmatogenous and transplacental transmission from an infected mother, but cervicovaginal transmission is quite frequent. A infant with a diagnosis of neonatal sepsis is at higher risk for complications and perhaps death. The purpose of this research is to assess the reliability of ultrasonographic Doppler prediction of cerebral blood flow velocities as a diagnostic marker of early-onset neonatal sepsis, since our understanding of early alterations to CBF in newborn sepsis is limited. In this study, cerebral blood flow was measured using trans cranial doppler ultrasound. Given that being born before 37 weeks of gestation is a risk factor for early-onset sepsis, we will include preterm neonates in our research if they have a history of exposure to at least two of the other risk factors of early onset sepsis. We aimed to assess the alterations in doppler parameters of such neonates using trans cranial ultrasound so that the future adverse neurological outcomes can be prevented.