The Role of Presepsin Obtained from Tracheal Aspirates in the Diagnosis of Early Onset Pneumonia in Intubated Newborns

Objectives To investigate the role of presepsin obtained from tracheal aspirate of intubated newborns in the diagnosis of early neonatal pneumonia. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was performed on 60 intubated newborns during the two-year period. Tracheal aspirate for examination was taken in aseptic conditions in usual toilets, by lavage with 2 ml of 0.9% NaCl in Mucus suction set. On the same day, presepsin (blood) was measured. Results There were 34 newborns in the examined group (with pneumonia) and 26 in the control group. Patient groups were similar regarding demographic characteristics related to gender and Apgar score. The coefficients of simple linear correlation revealed the statistically significant connection between presepsin (from tracheal aspirate) and birth body weight, presepsin (plasma), maternal infection and pneumonia. Significant differences in the values of presepsin (from tracheal aspirate) ( p < 0.001) and birth body weight ( p = 0.036) were found. Conclusions In intubated newborns, measurements of presepsin obtained from tracheal aspirate suggested that it can be used as a complementary marker in diagnosing early onset neonatal pneumonia.