Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Sixty-nine infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) were evaluated and compared to age- and weight-matched controls in an attempt to elicit factors that might point to a cause of this disease. Of the current theories advocated as possible causes of NEC, such as neonatal hypoxia, umbilical arterial catheters, sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, or exchange transfusion, none appeared more frequently in the study group as compared to the controls. The finding that enteric feedings were begun in all patients with NEC suggests a possible role in the cause.