Clinical value of procalcitonin-to-albumin ratio for identifying sepsis in neonates with pneumonia

Compared with neonates with pneumonia, neonates with both pneumonia and sepsis had a higher PAR. PAR was a useful biomarker in distinguishing septic neonates from neonates with pneumonia. It is possible that neonates with pneumonia also have unrecognized sepsis. Identifying sepsis in neonates with pneumonia may cause some trouble for clinicians. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of the procalcitonin-to-albumin ratio (PAR) in identifying sepsis in neonates with pneumonia. We retrospectively included 912 neonates with pneumonia from January 2016 to July 2021. Clinical and laboratory data were collected from electronic medical records. Among neonates with pneumonia, 561 neonates were diagnosed with sepsis, according to the International Pediatric Sepsis Consensus. Neonates were divided into a sepsis group and a pneumonia group. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate whether PAR was a potential independent indicator for identifying sepsis in neonates with pneumonia. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of PAR in sepsis. Neonates with sepsis have a higher PAR (p