Antenatal antibiotic exposure in preterm infants with necrotizing enterocolitis

Objective: To determine whether an association exists between antenatal antibiotic exposure and incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in low birth weight infants. Study Design: A retrospective case-control study was performed on all infants with a diagnosis of NEC born at our institition between 1988 and 2006. Medical histories of all infants with a diagnosis of NEC >= Bell's stage IIA and matched controls without NEC were reviewed. Maternal and neonatal characteristics were compared using the Mantel-Haenszel chi-square procedure, and logistic regression models were constructed to account for confounding. Result: Clinical data for 97 matched pairs were analyzed. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for antenatal exposure to ampicillin was significantly greater for infants who developed NEC (OR 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1, 4.8, P = 0.003) than for control infants. Conclusion: Infants who developed NEC were more likely to have a history of in utero exposure to ampicillin in the immediate antepartum period than infants who did not develop NEC. Journal of Perinatology (2012) 32, 705-709; doi:10.1038/jp.2011.180; published online 8 December 2011