ABSTRACT
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common gastrointestinal medical and/or surgical
emergency afflicting neonates with mortality rate of about 50% in infants weighing less than
1500 g. NEC represents a significant clinical problem. Although, it is more common in
premature infants, it can also be observed in term babies. It is a clinical syndrome of ischemic
necrosis of the bowel of multiple etiological factors. However, not all features of NEC are
explicable by this process. It is the most common gastrointestinal emergency in the neonate
(1,2). The role of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and viruses in epidemic NEC has also been
suggested; however, a single causative organism has not been identified.
