Early Detection of Blood Culture Positivity in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients Using Immature Granulocyte Percentage and Absolute Count

Abstract

Introduction:This study assesses immature granulocyte count as an early predictor of blood culture positivity in pediatric cardiac patients. Early diagnosis of sepsis is crucial but challenging. Blood culture is the gold standard; however, obtaining results takes 48-72 h. The study compares these indicators with other predictive markers of sepsis. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 200 pediatric patients to assess the use of immature granulocyte count as an early predictor of blood culture positivity in pediatric cardiac surgery patients with sepsis. The patients were divided into two groups based on blood culture results: positive and negative. A complete blood count was conducted for both groups, including immature granulocyte count and demographic information. The data were collected for two periods: 24-48 h before the blood culture and 24 hours after. The study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of immature granulocyte count and compare it with other established predictive markers of sepsis. The blood counts were performed using SYSMAX XN1000. Results: The study observed higher immature granulocyte counts in patients with culturepositive results during period 2 diagnosis (P<0.001). No significant differences were found in other lab parameters between the two groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that an immature granulocyte count ≥ 90 was helpful in predicting blood culture positivity in pediatric cardiac surgery patients with sepsis. Conclusion: Our study reveals that the Absolute Immature Granulocyte Count and Immature Granulocyte percentage (IG%) significantly increase within 24-48 hours of positive blood cultures compared to negative cases.