Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of the Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator

Neonatal early-onset sepsis is a serious health concern for term and late preterm infants. Screening for early-onset sepsis is often challenging due to variation in practice, nonspecific laboratory markers, and clinical findings that mimic immaturity. This systematic review evaluates the evidence for the effectiveness of the Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator (EOScalc) as a screening tool to appropriately identify neonatal early-onset sepsis and the ability to decrease unnecessary antibiotic use in late preterm and term infants. A comprehensive search of retrospective cohort and retrospective case-control studies was conducted using 5 databases. Studies were included if they evaluated the EOScalc within the defined parameters of use and excluded if they were not published. Six studies were identified and included from 2014 to 2017. Study comparisons varied on the basis of differing clinical practice and use of the EOScalc. Findings included in this review suggest that utilization of the EOScalc can reduce empiric antibiotic therapy, unnecessary laboratory testing, and separation of infants and mothers without increasing infant mortality.