Does serum albumin at the onset of necrotisıng enterocolitis predict severe disease in preterm infants?

• Published in: Pediatric surgery international Vol. 40; no. 1; p. 267
• Main Authors: Çıplak, Gökçe, Sarı, Fatma Nur, Erten, Elif Emel, Azılı, Müjdem Nur, Bostancı, Süleyman Arif, Tayman, Cüneyt, Alyamaç Dizdar, Evrim, Şenel, Emrah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 09.10.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomarkers - blood; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - blood; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - diagnosis; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Infant, Premature, Diseases - blood; Infant, Premature, Diseases - diagnosis; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Newborn babies; Original Article; Pediatric Surgery; Pediatrics; Predictive Value of Tests; Premature babies; Prospective Studies; Proteins; Risk Factors; Serum Albumin - analysis; Severity of Illness Index; Surgery; Biomarkers; Serum albumin; Severity of NEC; Preterm infants
• ISSN: 1437-9813; 0179-0358; 1437-9813
• DOI: 10.1007/s00383-024-05850-6

Objective To investigate whether laboratory markers obtained at the onset of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) predict the severity of the disease in preterm infants. Methods Prospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary referance hospital. A total of 88 preterm infants were included in the study. Of those, 60 infants had the diagnosis of severe NEC, while the remaining 28 infants constituted the non-severe NEC group. Severe NEC was defined as surgical NEC or NEC-related mortality. Infants with and without severe NEC were compared in terms of demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics. Results At the onset of disease, infants with severe NEC noted to have lower platelet count and serum ALB levels ( p  = 0.011, p  = 0.004; respectively), whereas higher CRP, and serum lactate levels ( p  = 0.009, p  = 0.008; respectively). Multiple binary logistic regression analyses showed that CRP (1.03(1.01–1.05), p  = 0.024) and serum albumin level (0.16(0.04–0.64), p  = 0.010) were statistically significant independent risk factors for severe NEC. The optimal cut-off value for the serum ALB level was found to be 23 g/L with 52% sensitivity (95%CI: 37–68%) and 84% specificity (95%CI: 60–97%) (AUC 0.727; p  = 0.002). Conclusion Serum ALB level at NEC onset might be a reliable biomarker for severe disease in preterm infants.