Hematological Profile of Newborns Hospitalized for Neonatal Bacterial Infection in the Neonatology of the Pediatric Department of Gabriel Toure Teaching Hospital Bamako, Mali

The blood count is an easily achievable routine exam and will it have specifics in the event of a neonatal bacterial infection? Hence, the present study with the objective of determining the profile of the hemogram of newborns hospitalized for early bacterial neonatal infection. Material and methods: This was a cross-sectional study that took place from June 27 to September 03, 2016 in the neonatology department of teaching hospital Gabriel Toure. Included were all neonates hospitalized for early neonatal bacterial infection (ENBI) and who had a blood count. Results: We included 227 patients, 64.8% of whom were premature. The sex ratio was 1.4. The infants were less than 24 hours old in 93.6% of the cases. The mean hemoglobin level was 16.435 g/dl [8.8 - 22.26]. Erythrocytopenia was found in 18.5% of cases. Anemia was present in 17% of newborns. The average leukocyte was 15.228·103/mm3 [1.4 - 72]. Hyperleukocytosis and leukopenia were found in 12.32% and 6.6% respectively. Neutropenia and lymphopenia were present in 14.5% and 30.8%. There was a correlation between leukocytosis of negative blood cultures (23/27) (p = 0.030). For Neutrophils, neutrophilia was more observed in term neonates and neutropenia in premature infants (p = 0.03). Monocytosis was present in 13.6% of cases. One quarter (25.5%) of newborns had thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Hematological variations did not allow a specific profile of newborns hospitalized for early neonatal bacterial infection to be identified.