Evaluation of premature newborns with necrotizing enterocolitis

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristic features and both early and late term prognosis of premature infants who were followed-up with NEC in the neonatal intensive care unit.Materials and Method: A total of 50 premature infants less than 34 gestational weeks with NEC between January 2005 and December 2009 were included to this study and the characteristic features, clinical and laboratory findings, and prognosis of these infants were evaluated.Results: In this study, 15 infants (30%) had stage 1, 21 infants (42%) had stage 2 and 14 infants (28%) had stage 3 NEC. The incidence of NEC was 7.5% (20/568). The mean gestational age and birth weight of infants who developed NEC were 29 +/- 2.2 weeks and 1142 +/- 300 grams, respectively. The mean onset of NEC was 18.5 +/- 8.1 days. There was hypoxic birth history in 64% of infants and the ratio of breastfed infants was 54%. There was a positive blood culture in 36% of infants with NEC. Surgery was performed in 8 infants with stage 3 NEC, whereas the other infants responded well to medical treatment. The mortality rate was 12% and feeding problems and malabsorption were found to be the most common early and late term problems in infants who survived.Conclusions: NEC is one of the serious problems in premature infants. The mortality and frequency of NEC was decreased with the improvements in the Neonatal Intensive Care. The most important etiological factors were prematurity, hypoxia and enteral feeding.