Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) was described over 30 years ago, and remains the leading cause of death in premature infants from gastrointestinal disease. It is axiomatic that necrotizing enterocolitis is both a devastatingly serious disease, and also one in which its very underpinnings remain mysterious

This is the first textbook devoted entirely to understanding and treating necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), one of the leading causes of death and disability in premature infants. NEC continues to occur in neonatal units across the world, and the overall mortality has remained stubbornly high since its first description decades ago. Despite significant research into NEC, and a greater understanding of its underlying causes, there is no single source of information to which the care team can turn for guidance. This book fills that important gap in clinical care.

In selecting the topics for this inaugural textbook, three guiding principles have been followed. First, to include chapters that provide detailed information for the medical team – the doctors and nurses, the therapists and pharmacists, the chaplains and the child life workers – so that each team member can optimally recognize, prevent and treat patients with this disease. Second, to ensure that chapters cover the depth and breadth of the latest clinical and scientific research into NEC, each selected to identify specific preventative strategies or therapies for this disease. Third, and perhaps most importantly, to focus not only on the child with NEC, but also on the child’s family, in order to provide comprehensive information about a disease that families have barely heard about, until the jarring day when their precious infant is affected by it.

This book therefore:

• serves as a "how-to guide" for the care of the infant with NEC
• summarises critical new research and offers guidelines for future key research areas
• addresses the complex and difficult issues surrounding care of the critically ill infant suffering from NEC

Written for the entire health care team including paediatric surgeons, neonatologists, developmental paediatricians, epidemiologists, ethicists, child life professionals, therapists and specialist nurses, each team member will find this book of value. This book was written to demystify this cruel disease, and to unlock its closely held secrets of pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention.