{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T17:29:34Z","timestamp":1784827774901,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,30]],"date-time":"2023-12-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1703894400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)"},{"name":"Friedrich\u2013Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg"},{"name":"Open Access Publication Funding"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>(1) Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels act as an early infection marker preceding C-reactive protein (CRP) elevation. This study seeks to analyze IL-6 behavior in suspected early-onset sepsis (EOS) cases among term newborns, comparing it to that of CRP and evaluating IL-6\u2019s diagnostic utility. We also aim to assess the impact of maternal risk factors on EOS in term newborns, quantifying their influence for informed decision making. (2) Methods: The retrospective data analysis included 533 term newborns who were admitted to our hospital because of suspected EOS. IL-6, CRP, and the impact of maternal risk factors were analyzed in the context of EOS using binomial test, Chi-squared test, logistic and linear regression. (3) Results: In the cases of EOS, both IL-6 and CRP were elevated. The increase in CRP can be predicted by the initial increase in IL-6 levels. Among the assessed risk factors, intrapartum maternal fever (adjusted odds ratio 18.1; 95% CI (1.7\u20134.1)) was identified as the only risk factor significantly associated with EOS. (4) Conclusions: Employing IL-6 as an early infection marker enhanced EOS diagnostic precision due to its detectable early rise. However, caution is required, as elevations in IL-6 and CRP levels do not exclusively indicate EOS. Increased CRP levels in healthy newborns with maternal risk factors may be attributed to dynamics of vaginal labor.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children11010053","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,31]],"date-time":"2023-12-31T06:37:12Z","timestamp":1704004632000},"page":"53","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Diagnostic Utility of Interleukin-6 in Early-Onset Sepsis among Term Newborns: Impact of Maternal Risk Factors and CRP Evaluation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Maria","family":"Schleier","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Lubig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sven","family":"Kehl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Medicine, Division of Obstetrics, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Universit\u00e4tsstra\u00dfe 21\/23, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steven","family":"H\u00e9bert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9132-6174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joachim","family":"Woelfle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adriana","family":"van der Donk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alisa","family":"B\u00e4r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3591-5265","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heiko","family":"Reutter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tobias","family":"Hepp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IMBE), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Waldstra\u00dfe 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4699-6427","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patrick","family":"Morhart","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg, Loschgestra\u00dfe 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"AWMF (2023, August 21). 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