Patient's question:
A newborn had a fever of around 38.5 degrees Celsius on the second day of birth and was transferred to the pediatric department. Blood tests showed no issues, but there was some jaundice. The doctor treated for pneumonia and jaundice, recommending blue light therapy, which was not administered. On the fourth day, another blood test diagnosed sepsis, with a possible concurrent purulent meningitis? Consulting doctors in Guangzhou, they said the sepsis was caused by a 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 anti-infection (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 definite evidence, it is difficult to determine if the sepsis is caused by umbilical cord infection, unless there are clear signs of umbilical inflammation (suppuration, odor, redness, and swelling), and the umbilical discharge and blood culture show the same type of bacteria.