Point of Care - Sepsis Study

This pilot study will evaluate whether a rapid point-of-care blood test can help identify early signs of infection and sepsis in preterm infants. The study will include preterm infants born before 37 weeks of pregnancy who are admitted to the neonatal care unit and have a suspected infection. The researchers will measure several substances in the blood that can increase during infection, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and myxovirus resistance protein A (MxA). Results obtained with the point-of-care device will be compared with standard laboratory measurements. The researchers will also study whether measuring IL-6 and PCT during the first 12 hours of life may provide useful information about infection earlier than CRP testing and whether combined MxA and CRP measurements may help distinguish bacterial from viral infections. This is an obs