NEONATAL NECROTIZING ENTEROCOLITIS - A RETROSPECTIVE AND MULTICENTRICREVIEW OF 331 CASES

The authors retrospectively review 331 cases of necrotizing enterocoli tis from 13 different departments of pediatric surgery; 184 cases were treated only medically at the acute stage (47 of whom developed intes tinal stricture) and 147 cases were operated on at the acute stage. Th e different procedures of acute surgical intervention are reported and the results of two surgical procedures are compared. The first is a c lassical one comprising a laparotomy with exploration of the intestina l tract and resection of the necrotic segments followed by enterostomy above the resected area. The other procedure comprises a minimal lapa rotomy in the right lower quadrant with ileostomy above necrotic areas , without resection of necrotic segments associated with peritoneal dr ainage. The results are assessed using the postoperative mortality rat e and the number of secondary intestinal strictures. Mortality during the first postoperative month occurred in 27.9% of cases, and intestin al strictures were noted in 31.3% of cases after acute surgical proced ure.