Erythropoietin and the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in infants with very low birth weight☆
Section snippets
Materials and methods
The study design was a retrospective cohort study of very low birth weight babies in a university neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Neonates admitted to the NICU of Shands Hospital at the University of Florida were eligible for this study if their birth weight was ≥500 and ≤1,250 g, and they were born between July 1, 1993 and January 1, 1998. Infants were excluded if they died on the first day of life.
Infants who received rEpo at any time before the onset of NEC were assigned to the rEpo
Results
Five hundred four very low birth weight infants (500 to 1,250 g) were born between July 1, 1993 and January 1, 1998, and cared for in the NICU of Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida. Of these, 483 survived the first day of life, and were included in our analysis. Of the 483 babies, 260 (54%) received rEpo, and 223 (46%) were controls. Thirteen infants in the control group received rEpo therapy after the diagnosis of NEC. The control group and the rEpo groups were similar in
Discussion
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a devastating disease that even when recognized promptly and treated optimally has a significant mortality and morbidity rate.1 It is thought that pathogenic bacteria, feedings, and mucosal compromise combine in a susceptible host to produce the bowel injury responsible for the typical clinical findings.12 Once present, the most important determinant of outcome is the extent and severity of bowel injury, so the ideal way to reduce the mortality and morbidity would
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Cited by (113)
Effect of enteral erythropoietin on feeding-related complications in preterm newborns: A pilot randomized controlled study
2020, Arab Journal of GastroenterologyInfluence of Growth Factors on the Development of Necrotizing Enterocolitis
2019, Clinics in PerinatologyCan Fish Oil Reduce the Incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis by Altering the Inflammatory Response?
2019, Clinics in PerinatologyToll-Like Receptor–Mediated Intestinal Inflammatory Imbalance in the Pathogenesis of Necrotizing Enterocolitis
2018, Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and HepatologyCitation Excerpt :This observation has led to significant interest in seeking to understand the molecular components of breast milk that confer protection against NEC. Earlier studies have focused on the presence of immunoprotective IgA,102 lactoferrin,103 and erythropoietin.104 More recent studies have focused on probiotic bacteria within breast milk,105 and the nondigestible human milk oligosaccharides that are present in breast milk and reduce NEC through inhibition of bacterial enterocyte binding and enhanced mucosal perfusion.86,106–108
Key Concepts in Immunologic Functions of Human Milk
2017, Fetal and Neonatal Physiology, 2-Volume Set
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Address reprint requests to Daniel J. Ledbetter, MD, Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Health Science Center, PO Box 100286, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610-0286.