Abstract
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a typical disorder of preterm newborns, with a high mortality and morbidity rate. The therapeutic and nutritional management of disease depends on several factors. Its prognosis is linked, in addition to the severity of the disease and the need for surgery, to a correct enteral feeding in these patients. This study aims to identify the clinical characteristics of 18 patients with NEC, evaluating the different therapeutic paths undertaken, the type of formula used and the survival rate of this population. Average time of enteral nutrition before the NEC onset was 11,3 ± 11,6 days, with an average fasting period since the onset of 24 ± 18.9 days. 77.8% of patients received surgery and resumed enteral nutrition 17.7 ± 17.9 days after the intervention. The overall survival rate of our cohort was 55.5%. More prospective studies are needed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of survived children with NEC.
Highlights
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a critical disease typical of premature infants
The average weight found at birth was 1078 ± 478,96 g. 4 infants were low birth weight (LBW) (< 2500 g), 4 were very low birth weight (VLBW) (< 1500 g), 10 were extremely low birth weight (ELBW) (< 1000 g)
We evaluated the administration of antacids and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in our population, trying to identify an indirect parameter that would give us an overview on main gastroenterological sequences of NEC
Summary
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a critical disease typical of premature infants. Its incidence varies among different neonatal intensive care units, the average prevalence among very low birth weight infants (VLBW), defined as those with a first recorded weight < 1500 g, is 7% [1, 2]. The intestinal barrier immaturity and a gut microbiota dysbiosis could probably contribute to the intestinal inflammation and the damage observed in these patients [1, 3]. The Bell’s staging, introduced in 1978 and later modified by Kligeman and Walsh, stratifies the severity of this pathology and guide the treatment approach [4]. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a population of patients affected by NEC, collecting their clinical data and analyzing the nutritional implications of disease
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