[Necrotizing enterocolitis and its surgical management. Study of 35 cases]

Thirty five cases of necrotizing enterocolitis, seen in the past five years in this clinic, are reviewed. Twenty four cases were seen up to December 1977 and eleven cases from January to March 1978 due to a neonatal I.C.U. epidemy. The relationship between some of the accepted perinatal pathogenic factors and the development of necrotizing enterocolitis is analyzed. The temporal relationship of the time of diagnosis to the onset of treatment is an important consideration for the prognosis. We propose surgical treatment if after eighteen hours of treatment there is no improvement. A guideline for the early treatment and surgical indications of acute necrotizing enterocolitis, is suggested.