Fourteen infants (gestational age 28.4 +/- 4.4 weeks; birth weight 1170 +/- 910 g) with clinical and radiological signs of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) were investigated by pulsed Doppler sonography. Pulsed Doppler recordings were performed in the celiac trunk and the superior mesenteric artery at an age of 15 +/- 10 days. The peak systolic, end-systolic, end-diastolic and time average velocities were measured and compared with the flow velocities of a healthy control group. Infants with NEC showed a significant increase in peak systolic and time average velocity within the celiac trunk and the superior mesenteric artery in comparison with healthy infants.