Abstract
Introduction: Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in intensive care units. In this study, we aimed to investigate the etiological cause, focus of infection, culture sample results, and inflammatory markers among patients treated for sepsis at pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).
Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 70 patients aged 1 month to 18 years who were treated for sepsis at PICU between January 2014 and May 2019.
Results: The median age of the patients was 37 months. The most common underlying etiology was respiratory failure (70%). The most common site of infection causing sepsis was the respiratory system (n:40, 57%). The most commonly isolated agents were Proteus mirabilis and Acinetobacter baumannii. Whereas C reactive protein (CRP) was normal at the time of the diagnosis of sepsis in 28.5% (n=20) of the patients, procalcitonin (PCT) was elevated in all of them. A comparison of the laboratory parameters in the first 24 hours after the diagnosis of sepsis and at the end of the treatment revealed a significant difference between White blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the levels of C reactive protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (p<0.05). In addition, positive correlations were detected between NLR, CRP and PCT (p=0.036, p=0.012/ r=0.251, r:0.299, respectively).
Conclusion: We believe that PCT, CRP, and NLR can be used as biomarkers for monitoring patients with sepsis.

Key words: CRP, NLR, PICU, procalcitonin, sepsis