Early antibiotic use and incidence of necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm infants: a protocol for a UK based observational study using routinely recorded data.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) remains a major contributor to preterm mortality and morbidity. Prolonged duration of antibiotic therapy after delivery is associated with later NEC development but recent evidence suggests that absence of antibiotic treatment after delivery may also increase NEC risk. We will explore this controversy using a large pre-existing dataset of preterm infants in the UK.

Methods and analysis

This is a retrospective cohort study using data from UK National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD) for infants born 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2020. Eligible infants will be <32 weeks gestation, alive on day 3. Primary outcome is development of severe NEC, compared in infants receiving early antibiotics (days 1-2 after birth) and those not. Su

SUBMITTER: Shen R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9667987 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature