OBJECTIVE We sought to determine if an association exists between the use of histamine-2 receptor (H2) blockers and the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in infants of 401 to 1500 g in birth weight. STUDY DESIGN Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network very low birth weight (401-1500 g) registry from September 1998 to December...

The pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a common gastrointestinal disease affecting premature infants, remains poorly understood. We previously found that intestinal VEGF-A expression is decreased in human NEC samples and in a neonatal mouse NEC model prior to detectable histological injury. Therefore, we hypothesized that lack of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) signaling facilitates neon...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictiveness of circulating interleukin (IL)-8 for 60-day mortality in premature infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). BACKGROUND NEC affects up to 5% of premature infants and remains a leading cause of mortality among neonates. METHODS A total of 113 infants with surgically (n=50) or medically (n=63) treated NEC were retrosp...

Preterm neonates are susceptible to gastrointestinal disorders such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Maternal milk and colostrum protects against NEC via growth promoting, immunomodulatory, and antimicrobial factors. The fetal enteral diet amniotic fluid (AF), contains similar components, and we hypothesized that postnatal AF administration reduces inflammatory responses and NEC in preterm n...

BACKGROUND Systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials report that probiotics reduce the risk of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm neonates. AIM To determine whether routine probiotic supplementation (RPS) to preterm neonates would reduce the incidence of NEC. METHODS The incidence of NEC ≥ Stage II and all-cause mortality was compared for an equal period of 24 months 'befor...

OBJECTIVE A prospective study to investigate the pattern of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in neonates with surgical necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and identify those cytokines being the most promising for future research. METHODS A panel of 11 different cytokines were measured in 9 infants with proven NEC and compared with 18 age-matched healthy neonates. RESULTS The serum ...

INTRODUCTION Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a common in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients; especially in premature and low birth weight ones. Surgery is indicated when there is pneumoperitoneum. Other therapies include conservative observation or primary peritoneal drain (PPD). This study was conceived to evaluate peritoneal tapping, rather than primary peritoneal drain (PPD) as ...

Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common serious gastrointestinal disorder affecting very preterm or very low birth weight infants. The risk is inversely proportional to gestational age and weight at birth. Fetal growth restriction and compromise may be additional specific risk factors. Postnatally, a variety of practices have been implicated in the pathogenesis of NEC including formu...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) are the most common acute surgical emergencies associated with high morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. We aimed to compare the profiles of immunoregulatory proteins and identify novel mediators in plasma of NEC and SIP infants. We also investigated the expression of target genes in resected intestinal tissues ...

Enteral formula feeding is a risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants, yet studies are conflicting regarding the safest timing for introduction and advancement of feeds. Our aim was to test the effects of early vs. late initiation and abrupt vs. gradual advancement of enteral feeding of an intact vs. hydrolyzed protein formula on NEC incidence and severity in preterm...