[The significance of various hematological parameters for the early diagnosis of bacterial infections in premature and full-term neonates. 3. Discussion of the study results].

: Haematological examinations may contribute, especially by repeated investigations of parameters changing dynamically, to a greater safety of decisions concerning the beginning or termination of chemotherapy in neonates with suspected infections. We recommend to check the blood count every 6-12 h in such cases. A normal blood count does not exclude a sepsis but haematological changes may precede clinical symptoms for hours. We can confirm the good experiences of some authors with "screening-scores" to detect early infants with sepsis. Such a score should include I/T-Quotient, thrombocyte count, CRP and micro-ESR. This contributes to a greater predictive probability of an infection.