Objective: To assess the evaluation and prevalence of benign hematochezia (BH) vs necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) <6 months old admitted to the acute care cardiology unit.
Study design: This was a multicenter retrospective review of patient characteristics and evaluation of all hematochezia events in patients with CHD <6 months admitted to acute care cardiology unit at 3 high-volume tertiary care centers from February 2019 to January 2021. NEC was defined by the Bell staging criteria. Patients with gastrointestinal disorders were excluded.
Results: In total, 180 hematochezia events occurred in 121 patients; 42 patients had more than 1 event. In total, 61% of affected patients had single-ventricle physiology (38% hypoplastic left heart syndrome). Median age and weight at hematochezia were 38 days (IQR 24, 79) and 3.7 kg (IQR 3.2, 4.4). In total, 77% of hematochezia events were BH, and 23% were NEC. There were no surgical interventions for NEC or deaths from NEC. Those with NEC were significantly younger (34 vs 56 days, P < .01) and smaller (3.7 vs 4 kg, P < .01). Single-ventricle physiology was significantly associated with NEC. Initial bloodwork and diagnostic imaging at each center were assessed. There was no significant difference in white blood cell count or C-reactive protein in those with NEC compared with BH. Blood culture results were all negative.
Conclusions: The majority of infants with CHD with hematochezia have BH over NEC, although single-ventricle and surgical patients remain at greater risk. Infants <45 days are more vulnerable for developing NEC. Bloodwork was noncontributory in the identification of cardiac NEC. Expansion to a prospective study to develop a treatment algorithm is important to avoid overtreatment.
Keywords: NEC; congenital heart disease; hematochezia; necrotizing enterocolitis.
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