Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) - Methods of Treatment and Outcome: A Comparative Analysis of Scottish (Glasgow) and Polish (Western Pomerania) Cases

Abstract AIM OF THE WORK: The aim of the work was to compare methods of treatment and outcome in newborns with necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in two regional centres.METHODS: Medical files of 125 newborns with NEC, treated from 1990 to 1995 in two centres - Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, Scotland, and Western Pomerania, Poland - have been analysed retrospectively. The following criteria have been studied: birth weight, gestational age, sex, risk factors, initial NEC symptoms, time of onset of the disease, x-ray findings, NEC staging, treatment protocols, outcome and complications.RESULTS: The overall mortality was 32.8%; 34.4% in Glasgow vs. 31.3% in Pomorze. Higher incidence of NEC in the group of full-term babies was observed: 31.2%. Drainage under local anaesthesia was performed in 27 Scottish newborns; none of the Polish babies were treated by this method.CONCLUSIONS: The overall results of different treatment protocols in both centres are similar. However, Scottish newborns tended to be younger, smaller and more severely ill. Less aggressive treatment - i.e. peritoneal drainage can be a successful alternative for these tiny, very sick babies.