Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis

Forty-six cases of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis are reported, with a 46% mortality rate. Unlike most other series, low birth weight children accounted for only half the cases. The recognized initiating factors of hypoxia and hemodynamic changes were not always present. A high index of suspicion in the child with non-specific malaise and earlier positive diagnosis provide the most likely means of improving results.