Neonatal early onset sepsis: a reflection on the NICE guidance

Neonatal early onset sepsis is a significant clinical problem requiring prompt identification and treatment of affected infants. Although the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance is helpful in defining a consistent approach to this topic, there remain large numbers of asymptomatic infants (with risk factors) who receive investigations and longer courses of antibiotics because of raised C-reactive protein. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate this and develop more specific investigations to confirm sepsis in order to prevent unaffected infants receiving unnecessary antibiotics.