The cost of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

Meredith E Mowitz; Dmitry Dukhovny; John A F Zupancic

doi:10.1016/j.siny.2018.08.004

The cost of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2018 Dec;23(6):416-419. doi: 10.1016/j.siny.2018.08.004. Epub 2018 Aug 17.

Authors

Meredith E Mowitz¹, Dmitry Dukhovny², John A F Zupancic³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Neonatology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Electronic address: mmowitz@peds.ufl.edu.
² Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
³ Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 30145059
DOI: 10.1016/j.siny.2018.08.004

Abstract

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a common morbidity of prematurity, affects 5-10% of premature infants with a birthweight <1500 g. The added cost remains unclear. Multiple studies report the cost of care for an infant with NEC as higher than that of well premature infants, but these studies are fraught with limitations. Surgical intervention and type of surgery appear to impact overall costs. Health care resource utilization extends beyond the birth hospitalization, particularly in those infants requiring surgery, and persists to at least three years of age. This narrative review of the literature reveals a paucity of studies and significant methodological deficiencies in most included studies. Further studies of the cost of NEC need to address the issues of significant confounding in this complex population.

Keywords: Costs; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Premature infant.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / economics*
Health Care Costs*
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature