Despite recent advances in neonatal practice, necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) remains the most common and devastating gastrointestinal emergency in premature infants. In fact, as more extremely premature infants survive, the incidence appears to be increasing worldwide.1 Severe NEC is characterised by coagulative necrosis of the distal ileum and proximal colon with clinical presentation ranging from abdominal distension, pneumatosis intestinalis, frank blood in stools, intestinal gangrene, bowel perforation, sepsis and shock. Approximately 9000 infants develop NEC in the USA each year and mortality rates range from 10%-50%.
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