The Utility of Absolute Monocyte Counts in Predicting Severity of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a potentially devastating disease of preterm newborns characterized by severe gut inflammation. Monocyte-derived macrophages have been implicated in the cellular inflammatory response in NEC (Mohankumar 2012). As macrophages are consumed, peripheral monocytes are recruited to repopulate the intestinal pool resulting in a perceptible drop in the serum monocyte count (Remon 2014). Objectives: Primary: To determine whether the degree of change in absolute monocyte count (AMC) at illness onset can predict eventual severity of disease at its peak. Secondary objective: to determine whether a drop in AMC is observed in bacteremic infants without NEC, as the two illnesses can present similarly. Design/Methods: A retrospective chart review (Jan 2012-Dec 2016), performed on …