Background: Neonatal sepsis is one of the common causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity. This study was aimed to evaluate the plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) level as an early marker of neonatal sepsis.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 142 term neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Kashan Shahid Beheshti hospital during 2010-11. The plasma IL-6 level of cases was determined using the electrochemiluminescence method. Ten icteric neonates with no signs or symptoms of sepsis were treated with phototherapy. Bactec blood culture was performed in 132 cases of suspected sepsis. Ten cases had positive blood culture and 122 negative blood culture with symptoms of sepsis. Then the levels of IL-6, in10 positive blood culture, 10 negative blood culture and another 10 cases with no symptoms of sepsis, were compared using Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results: Seventy-four cases were male and 68 were female. The incidence of neonatal sepsis was 7%. The most common bacterial agents were group B Streptococcus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Tachypnea (35.9%) was the most common sign among the admitted neonates. The mean IL-6 level in the first (suspected sepsis with a positive blood culture), the second (suspected sepsis with a negative blood culture) and the control group (icteric neonates) were 1545.65, 14.79 and 11.04 ρg/dl, respectively (P=0.001).

Conclusion: The plasma IL-6 level can be a good predictor of early neonatal sepsis.