The role of perinatal risk factors in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15574/HW.2026.1(182).5055Keywords:
necrotizing enterocolitis, preterm infant, perinatal risk factorsAbstract
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most severe perinatal diseases and is associated with high mortality among preterm infants.
Aim - to investigate the role of perinatal risk factors in the development of NEC.
Material and methods. The study involved 69 infants with NEC treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Preterm Infants Unit (study groups I and II). The control (III) group consisted of 31 conditionally healthy infants. The diagnosis of NEC was established according to Bell’s criteria. In turn, each group was subdivided into two subgroups: infants weighing less than 1500 g and those weighing more than 1500 g. In order to determine the role of antenatal risk factors in the development of NEC among the infants included in the study, genital and extragenital pathologies, as well as the course of pregnancy and delivery, were evaluated in 100 mothers and analyzed across the study groups.
Results. Thus, based on the results of the present study, in mothers of infants in Groups I and II, turbid amniotic fluid (p<0.001), intrauterine infection (p<0.001), and birth asphyxia (p<0.001), as well as in mothers of infants in Group II, arterial hypertension (p<0.05), preeclampsia (p<0.05), and operative delivery (p<0.001), are significant ante- and intranatal risk factors for the development of NEC. In addition, respiratory distress syndrome (p<0.05) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (p<0.05) were identified as postnatal risk factors for the development of NEC in low birth weight newborns.
Conclusion. The findings of the present study demonstrate that both antenatal and intranatal factors play a significant role in the development of NEC in newborns, particularly in low birth weight infants.
The study complied with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the institutional Ethics Committee. Informed consent was obtained from the patients prior to participation.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
References
Baranowski JR, Claud EC. (2019). Necrotizing Enterocolitis and the Preterm Infant Microbiome. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1125: 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2018_313; PMid:30680646
Cho SX, Rudloff I, Lao JC, Pang MA, Goldberg R, Bui CB et al. (2020, Nov 13). Characterization of the pathoimmunology of necrotizing enterocolitis reveals novel therapeutic opportunities. Nat Commun. 11(1): 5794. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19400-w; PMid:33188181 PMCid:PMC7666196
Lin H, Mao S, Shi L, Tou J, Du L. (2018, Nov). Clinical characteristic comparison of low birth weight and very low birth weight preterm infants with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: a single tertiary center experience from eastern China. Pediatr Surg Int. 34(11): 1201-1207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-018-4339-9; PMid:30128701
Lu L, Claud EC. (2018). Intrauterine Inflammation, Epigenetics, and Microbiome Influences on Preterm Infant Health. Curr Pathobiol Rep. 6(1): 15-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40139-018-0159-9; PMid:29938128 PMCid:PMC5978889
Mekonnen SM, Bekele DM, Fenta FA, Wake AD. (2021, May 27). The Prevalence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Associated Factors Among Enteral Fed Preterm and Low Birth Weight Neonates Admitted in Selected Public Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study. Glob Pediatr Health. 8: 2333794X211019695. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X211019695; PMid:34104696 PMCid:PMC8165834
Sampah MES, Hackam DJ. (2020, May 15). Dysregulated Mucosal Immunity and Associated Pathogeneses in Preterm Neonates. Front Immunol. 11: 899. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00899; PMid:32499778 PMCid:PMC7243348
Savarino G, Carta M, Cimador M, Corsello A, Giuffrè M, Schierz IAM et al. (2021, Nov 14). Serra G, Corsello G. Necrotizing enterocolitis in the preterm: newborns medical and nutritional Management in a Single-Center Study. Ital J Pediatr. 47(1): 226. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-021-01180-8; PMid:34775993 PMCid:PMC8591939
Sodhi CP, Wipf P, Yamaguchi Y, Fulton WB, Kovler M, Niño DF et al. (2021, Jan). The human milk oligosaccharides 2'-fucosyllactose and 6'-sialyllactose protect against the development of necrotizing enterocolitis by inhibiting toll-like receptor 4 signaling. Pediatr Res. 89(1): 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-020-0852-3; PMid:32221473 PMCid:PMC7529714
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ukrainian Journal Health of Woman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The policy of the Journal UKRAINIAN JOURNAL «HEALTH OF WOMAN» is compatible with the vast majority of funders' of open access and self-archiving policies. The journal provides immediate open access route being convinced that everyone – not only scientists - can benefit from research results, and publishes articles exclusively under open access distribution, with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 international license (СС BY-NC).
Authors transfer the copyright to the Journal UKRAINIAN JOURNAL «HEALTH OF WOMAN» when the manuscript is accepted for publication. Authors declare that this manuscript has not been published nor is under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere. After publication, the articles become freely available on-line to the public.
Readers have the right to use, distribute, and reproduce articles in any medium, provided the articles and the journal are properly cited.
The use of published materials for commercial purposes is strongly prohibited.
