Risk categories in infants initiated on antibiotics as per NICE guidance and projected recommendations by the SRC*
| Risk categories as per NICE guidance in babies receiving antibiotics | N (576) | % | SRC recommendations | |||
| Normal care | Vitals | Culture+vitals | Antibiotics | |||
| Maternal risk factors—red flags only | 227 | 39.4 | 150 | 41 | 13 | 23 |
| Maternal risk factors—two or more non-red flags only | 74 | 12.8 | 39 | 14 | 6 | 15 |
| Maternal risk factors—one non-red flag+infant symptoms only | 88 | 15.3 | 29 | 4 | 17 | 38 |
| Infant clinical indicators—red flags only | 76 | 13.2 | 22 | 0 | 8 | 46 |
| Two or more clinical non-red flags in infant only (no maternal risk factors or clinical red flags) | 42 | 7.3 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 14 |
| One clinical non-red flag in infant only (no maternal risk factors or clinical red flags) | 51 | 8.9 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| No clinical or maternal red or non-red flags | 18 | 3.1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 576 | 314 | 61 | 51 | 150 | |
*NICE recommends antibiotics if there are any red flags (maternal risk factors or infant clinical indicators) or a combination of two non-red flags either maternal or clinical or both. For a single non-red flag, NICE recommends observation at the discretion of the clinician.
NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; SRC, sepsis risk calculator.