Haematological abnormalities in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.

OBJECTIVE: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants born prior to 32 weeks gestation or with a birth weight less than 1500 grams. In this article, we review hematological abnormalities associated with NEC.

METHODS: A literature search was performed using the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus, and the electronic archive of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the Pediatric Academic Societies.

RESULTS: Thrombocytopenia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, increased or decreased neutrophil counts, and hemolytic anemia are frequent events in NEC.

CONCLUSIONS: NEC is associated with several hematological abnormalities, which may play a direct or indirect role in the pathogenesis of gut mucosal injury, and may also carry important prognostic information.