NIs
Description
Patient Population All patients were sourced from the NICU department of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. The inclusion criteria are as follows: 1. Infants admitted to the NICU between January 2020 and June 2024, with a hospital stay of ≥48 hours. 2. Infants born at a gestational age of <37 weeks. 3. Infants clinically diagnosed with late-onset sepsis, with the first blood culture result indicating bacterial growth. The exclusion criteria are as follows: 1. Infants with blood culture results indicating mixed infections. 2. Infants with incomplete clinical data. 3. Infants with preexisting disease, natural deformities, and genetic metabolic diseases. This retrospective cohort study is part of the research on NIs in premature infants conducted at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, located in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. This study received approval from the Medical Ethics Committee of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (Approval No.WDRY2023-K098), and during the data collection phase, the information of the infants was anonymized. Since the study does not involve patient privacy and will not adversely affect the rights and welfare of the infants, it was conducted after obtaining an informed consent waiver from the ethics committee (Approval No. WDRY2023-K098(X01)). However, the verbal informed consent was also obtained from the parents or legal guardians of the preterm infants. Data Collection Data were extracted from the medical record system in several aspects: 1. Demographic-related data, such as sex, gestational age, birth weight, the age of infection, corrected gestational age and weight of infection, urine output, body temperature, etc. 2. Vital signs and clinical manifestations at the time of infection, such as heart rate, response, skin color and condition, respiratory status, etc. 3. Relevant procedures performed within 7 days prior to the infection, such as whether mechanical ventilation was used and whether there was a presence of a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC), etc. 4. Results of blood cultures, complete blood counts, and blood gas analyses obtained from the same batch at the time of suspected infection.