The Spartacus Problem: Diagnostic Inefficiency of Neonatal Sepsis

Abstract

* Abbreviation:\n EOS — : early-onset sepsis\n\nIn the 1960 film Spartacus , the Roman army succeeds in trapping the rebellious slave army led by the eponymous hero.1 The Romans know that Spartacus is a dangerous foe who must not escape; unfortunately, they have no idea what he looks like. To ensure that Spartacus is eliminated, the Romans elect to execute everyone. It is easy to see the parallels between Spartacus and our current approaches to sepsis in the newborn. Nursery clinicians are well aware that neonatal sepsis is dangerous and must not be missed, but the challenge of identifying the septic needle from the uninfected haystack of neonates is challenging. The most common approach is to adopt a “when in doubt, test and treat” tactic. As a result, clinicians (me included) are both inefficient and subjective in our diagnostic approach to sepsis. In this issue of Pediatrics , Schulman et al2 highlight this inefficiency in their study of antimicrobial use in >326\u2009000 infants in 116 California NICUs. Clinicians administered antibiotics to an average of 95 infants (SD ±71) for each case of … \n\nAddress correspondence to Joseph B. Cantey, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229. E-mail: cantey{at}uthscsa.edu