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Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC)--methods of treatment and outcome: a comparative analysis of Scottish (Glasgow) and Polish (Western Pomerania) cases.

AIM OF THE WORK
The aim of the work was to compare methods of treatment and outcome in newborns with necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in two regional centres.


METHODS
Medical files of 125 newborns with NEC, treated from 1990 to 1995 in two centres--Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, Scotland, and Western Pomerania, Poland have been analysed retrospectively. The following criteria have been studied: birth weight, gestational age, sex, risk factors, initial NEC symptoms, time of onset of the disease, x-ray findings, NEC staging, treatment protocols, outcome and complications.


RESULTS
The overall mortality was 32.8%; 34.4% in Glasgow vs. 31.3% in Pomorze. Higher incidence of NEC in the group of full-term babies was observed: 31.2%. Drainage under local anaesthesia was performed in 27 Scottish newborns; none of the Polish babies were treated by this method.


CONCLUSIONS
The overall results of different treatment protocols in both centres are similar. However, Scottish newborns tended to be younger, smaller and more severely ill. Less aggressive treatment-- i.e. peritoneal drainage can be a successful alternative for these tiny, very sick babies.