The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2010 , Vol 52 , Num 1
Is neonatal antiretroviral therapy a risk factor for NEC occurrence?
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital “A. Gemelli” Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart, Rome, Italy
An association between maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection and increased necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) risk has been reported.
Viral exposure and maternal antiretroviral therapy have been described as
mediators of this risk.
We report a preterm patient with delayed meconium passage and subsequent NEC, in which both the above-mentioned mechanisms were excluded, suggesting that neonatal antiretroviral therapy could be the most relevant risk factor for NEC in a susceptible preterm gut.
Keywords : antiretroviral therapy, newborn, necrotizing enterocolitis, human immunodeficiency virus.