Acute Funisitis Correlates With the Risk of Early-Onset Sepsis in Term Newborns Assessed Using the Kaiser Sepsis Calculator

Abstract

Background The risk of neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) is traditionally assessed on maternal signs of clinical chorioamnionitis. Recently, an online EOS risk calculator was developed by Kaiser Permanente using maternal and neonatal clinical parameters. We were interested in whether an increased Kaiser sepsis risk score correlates with histologic acute chorioamnionitis or acute funisitis. Design Included in this retrospective review are 119 chorioamnionitis-exposed term neonates from January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2016. Clinical charts from mother–baby pairs were reviewed. An EOS risk score was obtained using the online Kaiser Sepsis Calculator. The presence and severity of acute chorioamnionitis and acute funisitis were recorded. A SPSS software was used for statistical analysis (IBM, New Jersey, USA). Results The Kaiser Sepsis Calculator could identify 97 of 119 (81.5%) neonates without increased risk for sepsis. Histologic acute chorioamnionitis was present in 100 of 119 cases (84%), in which 44 cases (44%) show severe acute chorioamnionitis. Acute funisitis was recognized in 87 of 119 (73.1%) cases, all of which had concurrent acute chorioamnionitis. Severe funisitis was seen in 38 of the 87 cases (43.7%). The Kaiser Sepsis risk score correlates with the presence and severity of acute funisitis ( P = .037 and P = .044, respectively) but not with the presence or the severity of acute chorioamnionitis ( P = .105 and P = .672, respectively). Conclusion Our study provides histological evidence to support that the Kaiser Sepsis Calculator may help to effectively reduce unwarranted blood culture, antibiotics exposure, and neonatal intensive care unit admission in term neonates.