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Antenatal antibiotic exposure in preterm infants with necrotizing enterocolitis

Journal of Perinatology volume 32, pages 705–709 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To determine whether an association exists between antenatal antibiotic exposure and incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in low birth weight infants.

Study Design:

A retrospective case-control study was performed on all infants with a diagnosis of NEC born at our institition between 1988 and 2006. Medical histories of all infants with a diagnosis of NEC ⩾Bell's stage IIA and matched controls without NEC were reviewed. Maternal and neonatal characteristics were compared using the Mantel-Haenszel chi-square procedure, and logistic regression models were constructed to account for confounding.

Result:

Clinical data for 97 matched pairs were analyzed. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for antenatal exposure to ampicillin was significantly greater for infants who developed NEC (OR 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1, 4.8, P=0.003) than for control infants.

Conclusion:

Infants who developed NEC were more likely to have a history of in utero exposure to ampicillin in the immediate antepartum period than infants who did not develop NEC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Kravis Children's Hospital, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA,

    A S Weintraub, L Deluca & R S Green

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    L Ferrara

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    E Moshier

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Roper Hospital, Charleston, SC, USA

    E Oakman

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    M-J Lee

  6. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    L Rand

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  1. A S Weintraub
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Correspondence to A S Weintraub.

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Weintraub, A., Ferrara, L., Deluca, L. et al. Antenatal antibiotic exposure in preterm infants with necrotizing enterocolitis. J Perinatol 32, 705–709 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2011.180

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2011.180

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