Observational studyJournal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association2018
Physical examination score predicts need for surgery in neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis.
Observational study in Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Methods of identifying surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis-a systematic review and meta-analysis.Pediatric research · 2025Pooled it
- Early versus delayed enteral nutrition for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy undergoing therapeutic hypothermia: a randomized controlled trial.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2022Trial
- An Eight-Parameter Summary of Clinical Findings Associated with Surgical Intervention in Infants with Necrotizing Enterocolitis Without Radiographic Pneumoperitoneum.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Necrotizing enterocolitis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Transfer learning prediction of surgical necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants without pneumoperitoneum on abdominal X-ray.Translational pediatrics · 2026Article
- Surgical Necrotising Enterocolitis (S-NEC): Where We Stand Today: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Enteral feeding timing and clinical outcomes in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy undergoing therapeutic hypothermia: a retrospective cohort study highlighting the challenge of confounding by indication.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Necrotizing enterocolitis in a neonate with severe congenital pulmonary valve stenosis complicated by a postoperative right atrial thrombus: a case report.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Surgical prediction of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis based on radiomics and clinical information.Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2024Article
- Novel scoring system for early diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis: integrating clinical and laboratory data with urinary caveolin-1 levels.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2024Article
- A Nomogram for Predicting Surgical Timing in Neonates with Necrotizing Enterocolitis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Application of comprehensive score of risk factors to determine the best time for surgical intervention in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.Journal of paediatrics and child health · 2023Article
- Serum Relmβ combined with abdominal signs may predict surgical timing in neonates with NEC: A cohort study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
- Predictive Factors for Surgical Intervention in Neonates with Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Retrospective Study.Frontiers in surgery · 2022Article
- Camera-based heart rate estimation for hospitalized newborns in the presence of motion artifacts.Biomedical engineering online · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the utility of a standardized physical exam score (PE-NEC) in predicting need for surgery or death in neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
methodsThis prospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted from 3/1/14 to 2/29/16 with three regional perinatal centers in upstate New York. Infants with NEC Bell's Stage ≥ 2 had physical exams and laboratory data recorded at 12-24 h intervals for 48 h following diagnosis. PE-NEC score was comprised of seven components: bowel sounds, capillary refill time, abdominal wall erythema, girth, discoloration, induration, and tenderness. Surgical timing was determined by surgeons blinded to the PE-NEC score. Optimal sensitivity and specificity of PE-NEC score for surgery/death (primary outcome) was determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.
resultsOf 100 infants with NEC, 5 had pneumoperitoneum at diagnosis and were excluded yielding 95 for analyses. Of those, 35 infants experienced the primary outcome: 3 died from NEC prior to surgery and 32 had surgery (30 laparotomies, 2 drains). The PE-NEC score was found to be sensitive and specific for need for surgery/death (AUC = 0.89, 95% CI 0.82-0.97); a score of ≥3 had a sensitivity of 0.88 (95% CI 0.72-0.97), specificity of 0.81 (95% CI 0.69-0.90). All components of the PE-NEC score were more likely to be present among infants with surgical NEC or who died.
conclusionPE-NEC score is sensitive and specific in predicting need for surgery in infants with NEC and should be validated as a clinical decision-making tool.
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