Efficacy of peritoneal drainage in very-low-birth-weight neonates with Bell's stage II necrotizing enterocolitis: A single-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND

Currently, pediatric surgeons are challenged by a lack of consensus on the optimal management strategy (conservative or surgical) for children with Bell's stage II necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

AIM: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of peritoneal drainage in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) neonates with modified Bell's stage II NEC.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis of 102 NEC (modified Bell's stage II) neonates born with VLBW who were treated at the Fujian Children's Hospital (Fujian Branch of Shanghai Children's Medical Center) between January 2017 and January 2020; these included 24 cases in the peritoneal drainage group, 36 cases in the exploratory laparotomy group, and 42 cases in the conservative treatment group.

RESULTS

The general characteristics were comparable in the three groups (P > 0.05). Compared with conservative treatment, peritoneal drainage was associated with significantly shorter fasting time, abdominal distension relief time, fecal occult blood (OB) negative conversion time, and reduced hospital length of stay (HLOS) (P < 0.05 for all). Despite some advantages of peritoneal drainage over conservative treatment in terms of cure, conversion to laparotomy, intestinal perforation, intestinal stenosis, and abdominal abscess rates, the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Compared to exploratory laparotomy, the fecal OB negative conversion time was significantly shorter in the peritoneal drainage group (P < 0.05); similarly, the exploratory laparotomy group showed longer fasting time, abdominal distension relief time, HLOS, and higher complication rate compared to peritoneal drainage group, but the between-group differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Peritoneal drainage, an easy-to-operate procedure, can improve the clinical symptoms of VLBW neonates with Bell's stage II NEC and help reduce the HLOS.