Patient's question:
A newborn had a fever of around 38.5 degrees Celsius on the second day after birth and was transferred to the pediatric department. Blood tests showed no problems, but there was some jaundice. The doctor diagnosed pneumonia and jaundice and required blue light treatment, which was not administered. On the fourth day, another blood test diagnosed sepsis, and it was also possible that there might be purulent meningitis? Consulted a doctor in Guangzhou, who said that the sepsis was caused by umbilical cord infection and that there were no symptoms of pneumonia!Doctor's answer:
Neonatal sepsis can present with a series of symptoms such as jaundice, lung infection, and fever. The main treatment is antiviral therapy (using antibiotics). Jaundice is just a symptom of the disease (such as sepsis), so it is not jaundice that causes sepsis. Neonatal sepsis can have many routes of onset, and the umbilical cord is just one of them. Without clear evidence, it is difficult to determine if the sepsis is caused by umbilical cord infection, unless there are clear signs of umbilical inflammation (purulent discharge, odor, redness, and swelling), and the umbilical secretions and blood culture show the same type of bacteria.