Epidemic occurrence of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis
M. Guinan, D. Schaberg, F. W. Bruhn, C. J. Richardson and W. W. Fox
In case-control studies of three epidemics of neonatal necrotizing
enterocolitis (NEC) in three different high-risk nurseries in three states,
no particular risk factor was associated with affected infants or their
mothers. Epidemic cases had higher birth weights and Apgar scores and fewer
perinatal difficulties than those previously reported for sporadic cases.
Seven infants fed primarily breast milk were not protected against disease.
Early antibiotic therapy was associated with a significantly decreased risk
of disease in one outbreak. In two hospitals, affected infants who received
antibiotic therapy during the first three days of life had a significantly
later disease onset. The occurrence of the disease in epidemics and the
decreased risk or modification of disease with antibiotic therapy support
an infectious etiology for NEC.
