Surgical treatment for necrotizing enterocolitis: a new score to extreme surveillance

Abstract

Background: The time to perform a surgical intervention in necrotizing enterocolitis remains a challenge for the pediatric surgeon. We design a novel score system to predict infants in high risk for the development of surgical necrotizing enterocolitis.

Methods: A total of 124 consecutively patients diagnosed of NEC at the University Hospital of A Coruña, Spain were included in the study. Associations were analyzed by bivariate and multivariate analysis. We applied multivariate logistic regression modeling to identify factors that could provide accurate risk of surgical NEC. We include not only analytical and radiological parameters or physical examination, but we also analyzed prenatal, sociodemographic, perinatal and peripartum variables that conditioned the presence of predispose factors, which could determine the debut of this entity and in its progression.

Results: Patients requiring surgical treatment have presented an antecedent of respiratory distress (worsening of the ventilatory requirements) in the perinatal period, they present higher values of glycemia at diagnosis of the illness, debut with coagulopathy and have in laboratory findings marked neutrophilia.

Conclusions: Our score system obtained by combining several parameters could detect infants at risk of developing severe necrotizing enterocolitis improving the morbidity and mortality associated with delay in the surgical treatment.