Association between Supraventricular Tachycardia and Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Case-Control Study

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common and fatal gastrointestinal disease encountered in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Several case reports have shown an association between supraventricular tachycardia and necrotizing enterocolitis. This study aimed to determine the association between supraventricular tachycardia and necrotizing enterocolitis. Methods: This study was conducted from April 1st, 2016 to March 31st, 2022, at the Department of Pediatrics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei, China. The records of 74 subjects with the diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) were obtained from the hospital’s medical data records. Consequently, 74 gender, gestational age, and birth weight-matched controls (babies without NEC) were recruited as controls. Results: Of the 74 cases, 47.3% of the cases were males, and 52.7% were females. Regarding the birth weight and gestational age, 77% of the cases had low birth weight (LBW) and 86.5% were premature. In terms of Apgar score, 93.2% of NEC cases had an Apgar score of >7 at five minutes. The median values of white blood cells, platelets, and hemoglobin of cases were 10.90 (8.09, 13.80), 227 (169.75, 295.50), and 155.6 (130.53, 170.95), respectively. No Association between supraventricular tachycardia and necrotizing enterocolitis (P = 1.00). Conclusion: No association between necrotizing enterocolitis and supraventricular tachycardia was found. Further multicenter-based studies examining whether there is a potential relationship exists between supraventricular tachycardia and the development of necrotizing enterocolitis are required.