Well-documented vital signs are key in the prediction of sepsis in low- and middle-income countries. We determined prevalence, associated factors, and outcomes of positive blood culture sepsis in premature neonates at Bugando Medical Centre Mwanza, Tanzania. Temperature, oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiratory rate, and random blood glucose were repeatedly recorded at admission, 8 h, and 24 h in all 250 neonates enrolled. Clinical and microbiological data were collected from patient records followed by descriptive data analysis. The mean age of the neonates was 3 ± 5.2 days, with the majority (90%) aged <10 days. The prevalence of positive blood culture sepsis was 21.2% (95% CI: 16.1-26.2). The fluctuation of the random blood glucose (RBG) (aOR = 1.34, 95% CI: (1.07-1.67), p = 0.010), low oxygen saturation (aOR = 0.94, 95% CI: (0.88-0.99), p = 0.031), premature rupture of membrane aOR = 4.28, 95% CI: (1.71-10.71), p = 0.002), gestational age < 34 weeks (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: (1.20-6.24), p = 0.017), and home delivery (aOR = 3.90, 95% CI: (1.07-14.19), p = 0.039) independently predicted positive blood culture. Significantly more deaths were recorded in neonates with a positive blood culture than those with a negative blood culture (32.1% vs. 5.1%, p < 0.001). In limited-resource settings, clinicians should use the vital signs and clinical information to initiate timely sepsis treatment among preterm neonates to prevent deaths and other morbidities.
Keywords: mortality; neonatal sepsis; preterm; vital signs.