Beneficial effect of melatonin in the treatment of neonatal sepsis

Objective: To study the effect of melatonin as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of neonatal sepsis. Methods: This study is a prospective nonrandomized nonblind case–control study and was carried on 40 neonates with neonatal sepsis diagnosed by both clinical and laboratory criteria. They were enrolled from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Menoufia University Hospitals. These cases were selected during the study period from November 2015 to May 2016 and were divided into two groups: intervention group (number 20 neonates) received melatonin 20 mg as single dose and antibiotics and control group (number 20 neonates) received antibiotics only and then both groups followed by physical examination, complete blood count (CBC), and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) to evaluate the improvement in both groups. Results: Before melatonin administration, there was no significant difference between intervention group and control group with regard to clinical condition, hs-CRP, and other serum parameters. After 24 and 72 hours of melatonin administration, both groups improved with regard to clinical condition, hs-CRP, and serum parameters with significant improvement in intervention group than control group. Conclusion: Melatonin could be used in the treatment of neonatal sepsis in both preterm and full-term neonates beside the conventional treatment.