Association of anemia and necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates: Systematic review and meta-analysis of transfusion thresholds, erythropoietin trials, and observational studies.

ABSTRACT: BackgroundMeta-analyses of observational studies evaluating association between blood transfusion and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) have shown mixed results and an independent association between anemia and NEC requires further evaluation.ObjectiveTo investigate the association of NEC with anemia in preterm infants via meta-analysis of (1) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating transfusion thresholds and recombinant erythropoietin (rEpo)/darbepoetin and (2) case-control studies comparing hematocrit levels between NEC cases and controls.Data sourcesPubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database were searched in August 2025, and the results were supplemented by other sources.Study selection(1) Transfusion threshold and rEpo RCTs evaluating NEC rates in preterm infants with lower

SUBMITTER: Vyas D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12831413 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature