Evidence · Systematic review or meta-analysis
Evaluation of Risk and Preventive Factors for Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Premature Newborns. A Systematic Review of the Literature.
- Allied health
- Breast milk and breastfeeding
- Enteral feeding
- Medical
- Necrotising enterocolitis
- Nursing
- Nutrition and gastrointestinal
Summary
This systematic review examines risk, protective and predictive factors for necrotising enterocolitis in infants born before 37 weeks' gestation, drawing on trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews published between 2018 and 2021. Risk factors discussed include prematurity, formula feeding and intestinal dysbiosis. Protective strategies reviewed include human and donor milk, human milk oligosaccharides, combined probiotics, lactoferrin and appropriately fortified donor milk. It also considers biomarkers such as faecal calprotectin, TLR4 activity and the IL-6 receptor for earlier diagnosis, noting that further research is needed on biomarker values, probiotic strains and dosing.
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- Licence:
- Open (Creative Commons)
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