{
  "abstract": "Background: Improved risk stratification strategies for neonates and young infants are urgently needed to reduce the substantial mortality burden associated with infectious diseases, particularly in low- and middle-income settings. Evidence supporting the use of host-response biomarkers to predict disease severity in this population remains limited.\n\nMethods: We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study at a National Reference Neonatology Centre in Morocco and evaluated the prognostic performance of host-response biomarkers measured in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to predict in-hospital mortality among hospitalized sick neonates and young infants (<2 months). Twenty-one biomarkers of immune activation, endothelial dysfunction, and neuronal injury were measured using Luminex and compared head-to-head.\n\nResults: Among 179 participants with available serum and/or CSF samples included in this analysis, 9% died during hospitalization (11/136 in the serum sample set, and 12/148 in the CSF sample set). In serum, lower concentrations of TRAIL and higher concentrations of Angpt-2, IL-8, and uPAR, were associated with in-hospital death, with TRAIL showing the strongest prognostic performance (AUROC 0.86; 95% CI 0.78-0.93). In CSF, PCT was the strongest predictor of severe progression for in-hospital death (AUROC 0.87; 95% CI 0.80-0.95), whereas higher levels of IL-6, IL-12p70, TNFR1, TREM-1, Angpt-1, NGAL, and NSE were associated with higher odds of probable or laboratory-confirmed meningitis.\n\nDiscussion: Serum levels of TRAIL showed an exploratory association with disease severity in hospitalized neonates and young infants with suspected serious bacterial infections. Larger multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings using multiple biological matrices, characterize kinetics, and determine whether these markers may have clinical utility for risk stratification in this vulnerable population.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Research Team on Health and Nutrition of Mother and Child, Laboratory of Biostatistics, Clinical Research and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University in Rabat",
    "National Reference Center for Neonatology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital, Ibn Sina University Hospital Centre",
    "ISGlobal",
    "Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Hospital Clínic",
    "Research Laboratory of Ibn Sina University Hospital Centre - Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University in Rabat",
    "Mohammed VI International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Sciences and Health (UM6SS)",
    "Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona (UB)",
    "Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM)",
    "Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiencies Unit, Children’s Hospital, Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus",
    "Infection and Immunity in Pediatric Patients, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute",
    "Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Deu, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu",
    "CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública",
    "Tropical Disease Unit, University of Toronto, UHN- Toronto General Hospital",
    "CIBER Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III",
    "ICREA",
    "Pediatrics Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona",
    "Institut Clínic de Medicina i Dermatologia, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 28,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chaymae El Abbass"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Luis Alberto Benegas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Andrea Alemany"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Cristina Garcia-Mauriño"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ilham Elouardighi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Imane Zizi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Najat Amalik"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lamya El Laziji"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Sobha El Ftouh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Rachid Babi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Khalid Bounagua"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nouhayla Bouali"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        6,
        7,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Sara Ajanovic"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sara Arias"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Dan Ouchi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Fio Vialard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        6
      ],
      "name": "David Torres-Fernandez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Pere Millat-Martinez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Diana Barrios"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        7,
        10,
        11
      ],
      "name": "Rosauro Varo"
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    {
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        12
      ],
      "name": "Kevin C. Kain"
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    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ruth Aguilar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        13
      ],
      "name": "Carlota Dobaño"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        13
      ],
      "name": "Gemma Moncunill"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Houssain Tligui"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Bàrbara Baro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        6,
        7,
        11,
        14,
        15,
        16
      ],
      "name": "Quique Bassat"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Amina Barkat"
    }
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  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/57m90zqkwzs03.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1873954",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13719337/?tool=EBI",
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  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1873954/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13719337",
  "pmid": "42964096",
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Neonatal and Maternal Infections",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
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  ],
  "title": "Serum and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for risk stratification of hospitalized neonates and young infants with suspected serious bacterial infections: a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study",
  "title_text": "Serum and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for risk stratification of hospitalized neonates and young infants with suspected serious bacterial infections: a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T12:20:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/57m90zqkwzs03",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Immunology",
  "versions": []
}