1. Defining necrotizing enterocolitis: current difficulties and future opportunities
- Author
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Steven J. McElroy, Joanne Ferguson, Minesh Khashu, Ravi Mangal Patel, and Michael S. Caplan
- Subjects
Male ,Diseases ,Infant, Premature, Diseases ,Low Birth Weight and Health of the Newborn ,Pediatrics ,Infant, Newborn, Diseases ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,Infant Mortality ,Medicine ,Pediatric ,Necrotizing enterocolitis ,Public Health and Health Services ,Female ,Infant, Premature ,Risk ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Consensus ,U.S ,MEDLINE ,Article ,Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine ,03 medical and health sciences ,Rare Diseases ,Preterm ,Enterocolitis, Necrotizing ,030225 pediatrics ,Humans ,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ,Intensive care medicine ,Premature ,Enterocolitis ,business.industry ,Extramural ,Infant, Newborn ,Infant ,Perinatal Period - Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period ,Newborn ,medicine.disease ,United Kingdom ,United States ,digestive system diseases ,Orphan Drug ,Good Health and Well Being ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S ,Neonatology ,Necrotizing ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized infants. First classified through Bell staging in 1978, a number of additional definitions of NEC have been proposed in the subsequent decades. In this review, we summarize eight current definitions of NEC, and explore similarities and differences in clinical signs and radiographic features included within these definitions, as well as their limitations. We highlight the importance of a global consensus on defining NEC to improve NEC research and outcomes, incorporating input from participants at an international NEC conference. We also highlight the important role of patient-families in helping to redefine NEC.
- Published
- 2020