Serum tumour necrosis factor alpha in necrotizing enterocolitis

ABSTRACT

Seventeen neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis from Ain-Shams University Obstetric Hospital were studied for tumor necrosis factor in their serum. They were 10 males and 7 females. Their mean gestational age was 35 +/- 3.48 weeks. Ten were prematures, while the remaining 7 were full term. Their mean birth weight was 2200 +/- 1260 g. Ten neonates were small for gestational age while 7 were appropriate for gestational age. Thirteen neonates not suffering from any visible pathology were included in the study as a control group. Five patients had stage I NEC [29.4%], while stages 2 and 3 comprised 70.6% of the study group [according to Bell's staging system of NEC]. Serum TNF values were significantly higher in the NEC patients compared with the control group [119.43 +/- 53.29 vs. 24.52 +/- 13.15 pg/ml]. There was a highly significant positive correlation between the stages of NEC and TNF levels, a significant positive correlation between TNF values and C-reactive protein and a significant negative correlation with platelet count. However, there was no significant correlation between TNF and both red blood cell and white blood cell counts. It was concluded that TNF, being raised in NEC, could be used as a diagnostic as well as a prognostic parameter that helps early detection and assessment of the severity of the disease