Exploratory laparotomy in the management of confirmed necrotizing enterocolitis

This study describes obstetric complications, postnatal comorbidities, surgical care and intermediate postoperative outcomes in all infants with surgically and/or histologically proven NEC, who underwent exploratory laparotomy at our tertiary referral centre. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective review between January 2005 and December 2010. Results are reported as median (range). Fisher’s exact test (two tailed) was used for statistical analysis. A P-value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 71 infants had suspected (Bell’s stage≥1) NEC. Of them, 32 infants underwent laparotomy for stage 2–3 NEC. We excluded 11 infants with surgically and/or histologically proven spontaneous intestinal perforation. In the remaining 21 infants with confirmed NEC, median gestational age was 27 weeks (23–39 weeks) and median birth weight was 720 g (440–3510 g). NEC was suspected after a median 14 days of life (1–49 days of life). Fifteen patients (71%) were initially managed medically for a median total of 8 days (1–25 days). Laparotomy was performed after a median of 7 days (
Source: Annals of Pediatric Surgery - Category: Surgery Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research