Nursing Care Plan - Neonatal Sepsis (Sepsis Neonatorum)

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Neonatal sepsis is defined as a clinical syndrome of bacteremia (presence of bacteria in the blood)with systemic signs and symptoms of infection in the first 4 weeks of life. When pathogenic bacteria gain access into the blood stream, they may cause overwhelming infection without much localization (septicemia) or may get predominantly localized to the lung (pneumonia) or the meninges (meningitis).

Neonatal sepsis is the single most important cause of neonatal deaths in the community, accounting for over half of them. If diagnosed early and treated aggressively with antibiotics and good supportive care, it is possible to save most cases of neonatal sepsis.

Clinical manifestations of neonatal sepsis:

Lethargy
Refusal to suckle
Poor cry
Not arousable, comatosed
Abdominal distension
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Hypothermia
Poor perfusion
Sclerema
Poor weight gain
Shock
Bleeding
Renal failure

Particularly suggestive of pneumonia	Particularly suggestive of meningitis
Cyanosis Tachypnea Chest retractions Grunt Apnea/gasping	Fever Seizures Blank look High pitched cry Excessive crying/irritability Neck retraction Bulging fontanel

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