Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40481289›Full record

ArticlePediatric research2026

Neonatal leucocyte cell population data: reference intervals and relevance for detecting sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis.

Flavia Ferraro, Laura Fillistorf, Varvara Dimopoulou, Lorenzo Alberio, Christine Coutaz, Sylvain Meylan, Raphael Matusiak, Jeremie Despraz, Eric Giannoni

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In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Flavia FerraroClinic of Neonatology, Department Mother-Woman-Child, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. flavia.ferraro@hug.ch.ORCID 0009-0008-8633-8489
Laura FillistorfClinic of Neonatology, Department Mother-Woman-Child, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Varvara DimopoulouClinic of Neonatology, Department Mother-Woman-Child, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Lorenzo AlberioService of Hematology and Central Hematology Laboratory, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Christine CoutazService of Hematology and Central Hematology Laboratory, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Sylvain MeylanInfectious Diseases Service, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Raphael MatusiakClinical Data Science, Biomedical Data Science Center, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jeremie Despraz *Clinical Data Science, Biomedical Data Science Center, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Eric Giannoni *Clinic of Neonatology, Department Mother-Woman-Child, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. eric.giannoni@chuv.ch.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTimely diagnosis of neonatal sepsis is crucial but remains challenging. Cell Population Data (CPD) provide high-resolution phenotyping of leukocytes, offering potential for sepsis detection. We aimed to establish neonatal CPD reference intervals and explore their capacity to detect sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

methodsCPD from neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes were analyzed in hospitalized newborns. Reference intervals (5-95th percentiles), at birth and during the first 28 days, were derived from newborns without conditions potentially impacting CPD (reference group). The performance of CPD in detecting blood culture-proven sepsis/NEC was evaluated against complete blood count (CBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP).

resultsReference intervals from 905 neonates showed that mean CPD values followed distinct trajectories for each parameter, while distribution width generally decreased with increasing gestational and postnatal age. CPD in 39 sepsis/NEC cases, obtained on the day of clinical suspicion or from the closest CBC, differed from those in the reference group, particularly neutrophil fluorescence intensity (NE-SFL) (56.2 vs. 41.1 arbitrary units, P < 0.001). NE-SFL had superior accuracy compared to other CPD, CBC, and CRP, with 90% sensitivity and 76% specificity.

conclusionsThis study establishes neonatal CPD reference intervals and identifies NE-SFL as a potential sepsis biomarker. IMPACT: This study establishes reference intervals for neonatal leukocyte Cell Population Data (CPD), providing a valuable resource for interpreting these preclinical parameters in newborns. Our findings highlight the impact of gestational and postnatal age on neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte morphology, contributing to a better understanding of neonatal immune development. In an exploratory analysis, CPD parameters, particularly NE-SFL, had superior diagnostic accuracy for sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis compared to traditional biomarkers. As CPD are automatically generated with CBC, they offer a cost-effective, real-time, and objective tool with potential for improving neonatal sepsis detection.

Indexed as

Enterocolitis, NecrotizingLeukocytesNeonatal SepsisSepsisC-Reactive ProteinFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfant, NewbornLeukocyte CountLymphocytesMaleMonocytesNeutrophilsReference ValuesC-Reactive Protein

Identifiers

PMID40481289
PMCPMC12956581

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.