Age at onset of necrotizing enterocolitis. Risk factors in small infants
R. Wilson, W. P. Kanto Jr, B. J. McCarthy and R. A. Feldman
We compared the features of 45 infants with early-onset necrotizing
enterocolitis (NEC) (in the first ten days of life) and 41 infants with
late-onset NEC (after the tenth day of life); all weighed 1,500 g or less
at birth. Infants with late-onset NEC were smaller at birth and had younger
gestational ages than infants with early-onset illness. No significant
differences between the two groups, however, were found in sex or race
distribution, mean one- and five-minute Apgar scores, or in the relative
frequency of occurrence of 30 maternal and neonatal risk factors.
Intravenous alimentation was administered significantly more frequently to
infants with late-onset NEC. Birth weight-specific weekly attack rates for
NEC declined dramatically when infants reached the equivalent of 35 to 36
weeks' gestational age. We hypothesize that the timing of noxious events in
relation to gut maturity may explain these observations.
