Necrotizing enterocolitis

Abstract

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common diagnosis that requires emergent operation in the neonate. Since first described by Touloukian in 1966, the pathophysiology of this disease remains an enigma. The disease involves the culmination of three factors: a premature infant, an immature immune system, and a gastrointestinal tract colonized with pathologic bacteria (Fig. 49.1). When these three factors are present in the setting of feeding an immature intestinal tract, an unknown trigger or series of events occur that together create the perfect storm that is NEC. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.