Table 1.
Baseline demographic, clinical and sampling characteristics.
| NEC (n = 31) | Controls (n = 31) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center of birth (n [%]) | 1.00 | ||
| Centre No 1–2–3–4–5-6-7-8 | 8 [26]–6 [19]–1 [3]–3 [10]–2 [7]–4 [13]–1 [3]–6 [19] | 8 [26]–6 [19]–1 [3]–2 [7]–2 [7]–3 [10]–2 [7]–7 [23] | |
| Gestational age weeks (median [IQR]) | 26+5 [25+2–27+6] | 27 [26+1–27+6] | 0.56 |
| Birth weight grams (median [IQR]) | 960 [755–1150] | 988 [840–1150] | 0.46 |
| Gender female (n [%]) | 11 [36] | 14 [45] | 0.44 |
| Singleton (n [%]) | 21 [68] | 21 [68] | 1.00 |
| Mode of delivery vaginal (n [%]) | 17 [55] | 19 [61] | 0.61 |
| Apgar score 1 min (median [IQR]) | 6 [5–8] | 6 [3–7] | 0.35 |
| Apgar score 5 min (median [IQR]) | 8 [6–9] | 7 [6–8] | 0.14 |
| Average feeding practice from birth to t-1: | 0.14 | ||
| Human milk > 75% per day (n [%]) | 20 [65] | 22 [71] | |
| Formula milk > 75% per day (n [%]) | 4 [13] | 1 [3] | |
| Combination of Human and Formula milk (n [%]) | 5 [16] | 3 [10] | |
| Missing values (n [%]) | 2 [6] | 5 [16] | |
| Primarily enterally fed at t-1—Enteral feeding percentage > 75% of total volume (n [%]) | 20 [65] | 20 [65] | 0.77 |
| Missing values (n [%]) | 5 [16] | 4 [13] | |
| Cumulative antibiotic administration by t-1 days (Median [IQR]) | 6 [3–7] | 4 [3–5] | 0.17 |
| Invasive ventilation at t-1 (n [%]) | 8 [26] | 4 [13] | 0.22 |
| NEC modified Bell’s stage | NA | NA | |
| IIIA (n [%]) | 15 [48] | ||
| IIIB (n [%]) | 16 [52] | ||
| Age at diagnosis (t0) days (median [IQR]) | 11 [8–14] | NA | NA |
| Laparotomy during NEC episode (n [%]) | 19 [61] | NA | NA |
| Late-onset sepsis prior to sampling (n [%]) | 12 [39] | NA | NA |
| Gram-negative LOS (n [%]) | 2 [6] | ||
| Gram-positive LOS (n [%]) | 9 [29] | ||
| Candida LOS (n [%]) | 1 [3] | ||
| Sample availability (total count) | 59 | 54 | |
| Time point t-1 (n [% of total samples]) | 16 [27] | 17 [31] | 0.85 |
| Time point t-2 (n [% of total samples]) | 22 [37] | 20 [37] | |
| Time point t-3 (n [% of total samples]) | 21 [35] | 17 [31] | |
| Sample age months (median [IQR]) | 79 [65–92] | 80 [70–99] | 0.21 |
IQR interquartile range, n number of infants, LOS late-onset sepsis, NEC necrotizing enterocolitis, t0 day of diagnosis, t-1 1 day prior diagnosis, t-2 2 days prior diagnosis, t-3 3 days prior diagnosis.