Feed Intolerance and Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Small-for-Gestational Age Neonates with Normal Umbilical Artery Doppler Flow

This was a prospective observational study conducted in a level III neonatal unit in North India to measure the incidence of feed intolerance and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm small for gestational age (SGA) neonates with normal umbilical artery Doppler flow in comparison with gestation matched appropriate for gestational age (AGA) neonates. Fifty consecutive singleton SGA preterms between 28 and 34 weeks gestation with normal Doppler were enrolled and 50 gestation matched AGA served as controls. There was a trend toward more feed intolerance (22% vs. 12%, p = 0.183), NEC (12% vs. 6%, p = 0.295) and mortality (8% vs. 2%, p = 0.362) in SGA group and these babies also had significantly more hypoglycemia (p = 0.000) and polycythemia (p = 0.032) and longer hospital stay (p = 0.017).