Abstract
Background: Infection in the neonatal period is an extremely serious condition and diagnosis is difficult. C-reactive protein (CRP) is widely used as a marker of infection; however, its usefulness is limited in the early phase. The role of soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), an adhesion molecule, has been examined in recent studies as an early marker of neonatal infection with controversial results.Aim: Assessment of sICAM-1 concentrations and correlation with CRP, which is the currently used marker of infection, in order to use sICAM as an early diagnostic tool in neonates suspected for infectionMethods: Blood samples and blood cultures were obtained from two groups of pre-term and full-term neonates with clinical suspicion of infection prior to the initiation of antibiotics. The sICAM-1 and CRP values were compared with the corresponding non-infected ones
(n = 10 each).Results: The sICAM-1 levels were found increased in the group of both premature and term neonates with infection compared with the corresponding healthy ones (