Twinning as a risk factor for neonatal acute intestinal diseases: a case-control study

Area of Science:

• Neonatalogy
• Gastroenterology
• Pediatric Surgery

Background:

• Acute intestinal diseases (AID), such as necrotizing enterocolitis and spontaneous intestinal perforation, are serious conditions in preterm infants.
• These diseases are linked to high mortality and morbidity rates.
• The risk factors for AID remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential correlation between twinning and the development of acute intestinal diseases in preterm infants.

Main Methods:

• A single-center retrospective case-control study was conducted between 2010 and 2020.
• 65 infants diagnosed with AID were compared to 260 randomly selected controls.
• Conditional logistic regression and multivariate models were used to calculate Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI).

Main Results:

• Infants with AID showed higher rates of neonatal pathology, medically assisted procreation, and periventricular leukomalacia compared to controls.
• Approximately 50% of AID cases required surgical intervention.
• The study found an increased Odds Ratio for the direct effect of twinning on AID, suggesting a potential risk factor.

Conclusions:

• Twinning may be a significant risk factor for the development of acute intestinal diseases in preterm infants.
• The observed association requires further investigation in larger, multi-center studies to confirm findings and elucidate mechanisms.