Symptoms of Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Babies with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) may have these symptoms:
- Green vomit (also called bilious because it contains bile, a liquid made in the liver to help digest fats)
- Diarrhea or bloody stools (feces)
- Swollen belly (abdomen)
- Red or blue color in the belly
- Tiredness, sluggishness or no energy (lethargy)
- Problems keeping a normal body temperature
- Breathing problems
- Slow heart rate
Necrotizing Enterocolitis Diagnosis
If your child has symptoms of NEC, your child’s doctor will go over a detailed history of your child’s illness. The doctor will do a thorough exam and may do blood tests to check for:
- High or low white blood cell level (caused by infection)
- Low platelet level (caused by poison released by bacteria)
- High level of acid in the blood (caused by dying tissue)
The doctor may also check your child’s stool for blood.
Your child may need X-rays of their belly and chest to look for these signs of NEC:
- Pockets of air inside the wall of the intestine (pneumatosis intestinalis, caused by bacteria)
- Air bubbles in the vein from the intestines to the liver (portal vein gas, caused when the blood absorbs air that built up in the wall of the intestines)
- Air inside the belly but outside the intestines (pneumoperitoneum, caused when the intestines get holes and air leaks out)
- Fluid inside the belly (ascites, caused when the intestines get holes and fluid leaks out)
- Enlarged loops of intestine that do not move (which may mean that part of the intestine has died)