Table 3.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE “RULE OUT NEC” EPISODE. Demographic features, selected laboratory values, and fecal calprotectin levels at the onset of 30 episodes of “rule out NEC” evaluations.
| EVENTUAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE “RULE-OUT NEC” EPISODE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feeding Intolerance •Not NEC •No hematochezia (n=9) | Feeding Intolerance •Not NEC •Hematochezia (n=6) | NEC Stage II (Medical) (n=14) | NEC Stage III (Surgical) (n=1) | p value No NEC vs NEC | |
| Birth weight (grams) | 1239 ± 932 | 1699 ± 417 | 1289 ± 555 | 3550 | 0.924 |
| Gestational age at birth (weeks ± days) | 28 ± 5 | 31 ± 3 | 29 ± 3.8 | 36 | 0.693 |
| Gender (% male) | 7/9 (78%) | 5/6 (83%) | 9/14 (64%) | 1/1 (100%) | 0.410 |
| Race (% non-white) | 3/9 (33%) | 0/6 (0%) | 1/14 (7%) | 0 (0%) | 0.283 |
| Postnatal age at “R/O NEC” (weeks) | 32 ± 3 | 33 ± 4 | 31 ± 9 | 36 | 0.384 |
| Leukocyte count (X103/μL) | 11.9 ± 6.4 | 14.8 ± 6.2 | 11.9 ± 6.2 | 9.8 ± 5.9 | 0.480 |
| I/T neutrophil ratio | 0.10 ± 0.07 | 0.16 ± 0.05 | 0.18 ± 0.17 | 0.67 ± 0.26 | 0.046 |
| Monocyte count (X103/μL) | 1.3 ± 0.8 | 1.9 ± 0.9 | 1.7 ± 0.9 | 1.6 ± 1.3 | 0.987 |
| Eosinophil count (X103/μL) | 0.6 ± 1.0 | 0.7 ± 0.3 | 0.5 ± 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.620 |
| Platelet count (X103/μL) | 232 ± 78 | 284 ± 157 | 341 ± 82 | 184 ± 85 | 0.005 |
| Stool Calprotectin (μg/g stool) | 83 ± 66 | 159 ± 121 | 567 ± 371 | 235 | 0.000 |
Values are either shown as (mean±SD or median with 1st and 3rd quartile)