Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disease that affects the intestine of premature infants and is the most common surgical emergency in newborns. It is estimated that up to 10% of premature babies can suffer from this condition. Despite aggressive medical treatment, surgical intervention is necessary in up half of the cases for bowel necrosis or perforation and these often represent the more severe form of the disease. The advances in neonatal intensive care and surgical knowledge have resulted in improved survival rate in recent years. For NEC patients with severe disease (i.e.) those with intestinal perforation or gangrenous bowel not responding to medical therapy, surgery with resection of diseased segments is the treatment of choice. Traditional surgical approach would be to resect the diseased bowel segment with formation of enterostomy. However, in a few advanced centres, primary anastomosis after the resection of diseased bowel segment is practised. Retrospective reports of the primary anastomosis approach have shown that this is also a viable option with no increased rate of peri-operative morbidity. It also has the advantage of avoiding a second operation for enterostomy closure. Nonetheless, prospective studies comparing the two approaches are lacking. The proposed study will fill up the following knowledge gap on what the best surgical option for NEC at laparotomy is. The findings will help guide our practice for NEC patients in the future in order to provide them with the best possible and evidence-based care. In this study, the investigators hypothesize that neonates with major NEC undergoing primary anastomosis after surgical resection is not inferior to neonates who have enterostomy, in terms of peri-operative morbidities. Aim of the study is to compare the short term and medium term outcomes of NEC patients requiring surgical intervention who either receive primary anastomosis or enterostomy creation.


Clinical Trial Description

n/a


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT04912453
Study type Interventional
Source The University of Hong Kong
Contact Adrian Fung, MBBS
Phone +85222554850
Email fungchiheng@gmail.com
Status Recruiting
Phase N/A
Start date July 1, 2021
Completion date January 31, 2025

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Recruiting NCT05544097 - Spectral Analysis of Bowel Sounds in Preterm Babies of Less Than 32 Weeks of Amenorrhea (WA) as Predictive Factor of Enterocolitis N/A
Recruiting NCT03210831 - Early Predictors of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonates
Not yet recruiting NCT06045130 - PUFAs in Preterm Infants
Recruiting NCT02552706 - The Efficacy and Mechanisms of Oral Probiotics in Preventing Necrotizing Enterocolitis N/A
Completed NCT02400697 - Placental Transfusion Project for Preterm Infants N/A
Completed NCT01751477 - Infloran® for Prevention of Necrotizing Enterocolitis N/A
Terminated NCT01156480 - Anti-inflammatory Treatment at the Onset of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) in Preterm Infants N/A
Completed NCT00787124 - Transfusions and Nitric Oxide Level in Preterm Infants
Unknown status NCT00254176 - Cysteine Supplementation in Critically Ill Neonates Phase 2/Phase 3
Recruiting NCT01441739 - Intestinal Failure in Necrotising Enterocolitis N/A
Recruiting NCT03869827 - Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Fetuses With Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Recruiting NCT04074824 - A Genome-Wide Association Study for Neonatal Diseases
Terminated NCT03320785 - Circulating Markers in Preterm Infants With Perinatal and Neonatal Inflammation
Active, not recruiting NCT03554278 - Alteration of Stool Microbiota in Preterm Infants With Anemia
Not yet recruiting NCT04541771 - The Role of Lactobacillus Reuteri in Preventing Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) in Pre-term Infants Phase 2
Not yet recruiting NCT03700957 - The Impact of Docosahexaenoic Acid on the Prevention of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Neonates N/A
Completed NCT03551600 - Splanchnic and Renal Tissue Oxygenation During Enteral Feedings in Neonates With Patent Ductus Arteriosus
Completed NCT01735578 - Splanchnic Tissue Oxygenation During Enteral Feedings in Anemic Premature Infants at Risk for Necrotizing Enterocolitis N/A
Unknown status NCT01807858 - The Effects of Synbiotics on Morbidity and Mortality in Preterm Infants N/A
Completed NCT01745510 - Enteral Administration of Docosahexaenoic Acid to Prevent Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Neonates Phase 1/Phase 2