Necrotizing enterocolitis

Abstract

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a disease characterized by crepitant necrosis of the gut, is the most common surgical emergency in newborns in the USA, Canada and many countries of the world.1-3 NEC occurs chiefly among premature infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The overall incidence of NEC in the USA is 1-3 cases per 1000 live births, representing 1% to 7.7% of all admissions to NICUs.4 Although the disease entity was recognized in the 1950s5-7 and a few centers reported their surgical experience in the 1960s,8-10 it was not until NICUs were established in the 1970s that NEC became a disease of surgical significance. These NICUs enabled the survival of small premature infants, who formerly died of pulmonary failure soon after birth, without developing intestinal disease.