Prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13112/pc.1182Keywords:
Enterocolitis, Necrotizing; Infant, Premature; Milk, humanAbstract
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a multifactorial disease with complex pathogenesis, predominantly affecting preterm babies and representing neonatal urgency, still with high mortality and long-term morbidity, considering gastrointestinal complications, somatic growth retardation, and secondary lung and brain lesions. Although complex pathogenesis exists, three main risk factors are: intestinal immunological immaturity, intestinal colonization with pathogenic bacteria (dysbiosis), and enteral formula feeding.
Clinical and scientific knowledge explain complex pathogenesis and create a basis for the implementation of novel nutritional and pharmacological measures for the purpose of disease prevention. The aim of this work is epidemiological, clinical, immunological, and microbiological knowledge integration for the implementation of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies.
Necrotizing enterocolitis in term newborns with different pathogenesis and clinical presentation is not the subject of this text.
References
1. Ishiyama A, Jang H-S, Dintaman JM, Duess JW, Tragesser C, Sodhi CP. Necrotizing enterocolitis: A comprehensive review on toll-like receptor 4-mediated pathophysiology, clinical, and therapeutic insights. Biomedicines. 2025;13:2288.
2. Lee JY, Park KH, Kim A, Yang HR, Jung EY, Cho SH. Maternal and placental risk factors for developing necrotizing enterocolitis in very preterm infants. Pediatr Neonatol. 2017;58:57–62.
3. Su Y, Xu RH, Guo LY, Chen XQ, Han WX, Ma JJ, et al. Risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates: A meta-analysis. Front Pediatr. 2022;10:1079894.
4. Niño DF, Sodhi CP, Hackam DJ. Necrotizing enterocolitis: new insights into pathogenesis and mechanisms. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;13:590–600.
5. Cai X, Golubkova A, Hunter CJ. Advances in our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis. BMC Pediatr. 2022;22:225.
6. Tanner SM, Berryhill TF, Ellenburg JL, Jilling T, Cleveland DS, Lorenz RG, et al. Pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis: modeling the innate immune response. Am J Pathol. 2015;185:4–16.
7. Colarelli AM, Barbian ME, Denning PW. Prevention strategies and management of necrotizing enterocolitis. Curr Treat Options Pediatr. 2024;10:126–46.
8. Rodriguez ME, Bhambri A, Crespin Henriquez IP, Dave R, Boahemaah-Kontoh L, Shrestha JC, et al. Advances in the prevention and treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis: A New Era in neonatal care. Adv Res Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024;21.
9. Sajankila N, Wala SJ, Ragan MV, Volpe SG, Dumbauld Z, Purayil N, et al. Current and future methods of probiotic therapy for necrotizing enterocolitis. Front Pediatr. 2023;11:1120459.
10. Han J, Ren Y, Zhang P, Fang C, Yang L, Zhou S, et al. The effectiveness of treatment with probiotics in preventing necrotizing enterocolitis and related mortality: results from an umbrella meta-analysis on meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. BMC Gastroenterol. 2025;25:245.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mirna Sipl, Ivana Sarić
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By publishing in Paediatria Croatica, authors retain the copyright to their work and grant others the right to use, reproduce, and share their research articles in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which allows others to distribute and build upon the work as long as they credit the author for the original creation.
