Correlation Between Prematurity and The Onset of Neonatal Sepsis: A Cross-Sectional Study in NICU of a Tertiary Hospital in East Java, Indonesia

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of neonatal sepsis in developing countries is still high, reaching 170 out of 1000 births. An increased premature birth rate has become the leading cause of death in children under five years old. Studies examining the correlation between prematurity and neonatal sepsis onset have not been widely reported. Therefore, we assessed the correlation between gestational age and the onset of sepsis in neonatal patients. METHODS: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was performed on all neonates diagnosed with neonatal sepsis in the NICU of a tertiary referral hospital in East Java between 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2019. Logistic regression was used to analyze the obtained data. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 241 patients identified with neonatal sepsis at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in 2019, we found that 161 patients met the inclusion criteria, with most patients being early-onset sepsis patients (67.7%), low birth weight (75.8%), premature (65.2%), singleton deliveries (92.5%), and cesarean section births (65.2%). Statistical analysis showed a non-significant correlation between prematurity and the onset of neonatal sepsis (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Although preterm birth is often reported as one of the most important risk factors of neonatal sepsis, prematurity does not appear to be an independent risk factor of neonatal sepsis onset