Epidemiology of necrotising enterocolitis in Malaysian neonates

Over a 21-month period, 108 of 45,770 neonates born in the Maternity Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, developed necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). The incidence of NEC was 2.4 per 1000 livebirths or 2.7 per 100 special care nursery (SCN) admissions in this Hospital. There was no significant difference in the incidence between the sexes or among the different races. NEC was most common (9.4%) in the very low birthweight (VLBW: neonates weighing less than 1500 grams) and the preterms of less than 34 week gestation (8.4%). 54.6% of the patients developed the condition during the first week of life. NEC occurred throughout the year in our nursery with clustering of cases intermittently. The case fatality ratio of the condition was 28.7%. NEC accounted for 5.7% of our Hospital's neonatal (less than 28 days of life) and postneonatal (greater than or equal to 28 days of life) deaths. There was no significant difference in the rates of occurrence of placental praevia, prolonged rupture of amniotic membranes, maternal pregnancy-induced hypertension, birth asphyxia, apnoea, respiratory distress, patent ductus arteriosus and exchange blood transfusion in neonates with NEC and those in the control group. Our findings on Malaysian neonates were comparable with those reported in the literature on neonates in developed countries.