Necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm newborn with a history of maternal COVID-19: a case report

Abstract

A 6-day-old newborn male presented with a primary complaint of abdominal distension for 3 days before hospital admission. The newborn was delivered from a confirmed COVID-19–positive mother through caesarean section at 38-39 weeks with a birth weight of 2800 grams. Various tests, including blood tests, cultures, and radiography were performed. The patient was diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis; the prevalence of necrotizing enterocolitis in at-term newborns with >36 weeks of gestational age is 10%. In this case, NEC was suggested to be due to maternal infection during the prenatal phase, as the mother was a confirmed COVID-19 patient. Further exploration is needed to illustrate neonatal outcomes following necrotizing enterocolitis diagnosis in correlation with maternal intrauterine COVID-19 infection.

Keywords

• NEC
• COVID-19
• Sepsis
• Klebsiella pneumoniae