Background: Neonatal sepsis is the most common cause for neonatal mortality and morbidity in India, Therefore it is essential that we diagnose early onset sepsis using clinical signs and symptoms and rapid diagnostic techniques and start appropriate treatment without any delay. Various diagnostic tests that differentiate infected and non-infected neonates particularly in the first few days of life can potentially make significant impact on the neonatal care.Methods: This was a hospital based clinical prospective study, done in the NICU department of pediatrics at Yenepoya medical college hospital, from January 2013 to December 2013. Sample size in this study was 50. All consecutive neonates fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were subjected to investigations like serum Procalcitonin, CRP, Total count, Gastric aspirate, Peripheral smear and Blood culture before starting treatment with antibiotics. Positive blood culture was taken as proven sepsis. The results obtained from our study parameters were statistically compared with cases of proven sepsis. Results: In our study 16(32%) out of 50 neonates had proven sepsis. In comparison to the other  markers of neonatal sepsis Elevated levels of serum Procalcitonin was found to be the most sensitive test with sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 50%, positive predictive value of 48.5%and negative predictive value of 100% and with a very highly significant p value of <0.001.Among the levels of PCT moderately elevated (2-10ng/dl) had sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 84.5%, PPV of 62.5% and NPV of 100% and highly elevated (>10ng/dl) had sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 80%, PPV of 75% and NPV of 100%.Conclusions: The use of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis has proved to be very useful compared to other regular sepsis markers. Procalcitonin performs better than CRP in the diagnosis of neonatal infection. Serum Procalcitonin levels >2 ng/dl has got a better sensitivity; PPV and NPV thus help us not only in the early diagnosis and also in the prognosis of the treatment and helps us in guiding in reducing the unwanted usage on antibiotics.

Background: High levels of total serum bilirubin can cause life threatening complications in neonates requiring management either with phototherapy or exchange blood transfusion. Most commonly used modality of phototherapy is with blue light. There are many bulbs like fluorescent tubes, halogen spotlights etc. Due to disadvantages of the available bulbs, newer method like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has been investigated as possible alternatives as they produce low heat, has a longer life span with lower energy consumption and rapid reduction of serum bilirubin level. The aim was to compare the efficacy between phototherapy equipped with light emitting diode (LED) to compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) in the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia among neonates.Methods: A hospital-based intervention study was conducted among 50 neonates born in the hospital during the study period, with gestational age more than equal to 35 weeks, being breastfed and healthy in a private medical college teaching hospital in Dakshina Kannada district from August to September 2016.  Following ethical committee clearance the neonates looking icteric by clinical examination were randomly allocated to receive CFL or LED phototherapy. Baseline, 24 hour total serum bilirubin and rectal temperature was measured.  Results: A total of 50 neonates were randomly allocated into two groups with almost similar characteristics between the two groups with respect to gender, type of delivery and gestational age. The mean bilirubin values (in mg/dl) among neonates in the CFL group and LED group were 14.8 and 15.6 respectively and post 24 hour values were 11.54 and 10.68 respectively. The mean difference in the reduction in the bilirubin values before and after receiving phototherapy between the two groups were significant (p <0.001). The increase in temperature was lesser among LED treatment group.Conclusions: LED therapy is better than the CFL therapy in terms of mean reduction in the total serum bilirubin after a fixed duration of time and lesser raise in temperature among the neonates.