title: Serum amyloid-A levels in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.
abstract: We aimed to evaluate serum levels of serum amyloid-A (SAA) both in the diagnosis and monitoring the treatment response of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Forty-five preterm neonates were enrolled in the study, including 15 infants with NEC, 15 with sepsis, and 15 healthy preterm infants. Pre- and posttreatment serum SAA levels were measured. Among patients with NEC, 11 had stage 1 and 4 had stage 2 disease according to the modified Bell's staging criteria. Baseline SAA levels of the infants with NEC were significantly higher than controls (P=0.013) and were significantly lower than those with sepsis (P=0.004). When infants with stage 1 and stage 2 NEC were analyzed separately, baseline SAA levels of the infants with stage 2 NEC were significantly higher than controls (P=0.027) than those with stage 1 NEC (P=0.018), but similar to those with sepsis. There was a trend that baseline SAA levels were also correlated with the Bell stage (r=0.501, P=0.057). Posttreatment SAA levels significantly decreased in infants with sepsis (P=0.002). Pre- and posttreatment SAA levels were similar in patients with stage 1 and 2 NEC. In conclusion, SAA rises in early stages of NEC and may aid in diagnosis as a serum marker.
authors.affiliation: Zekai Tahir Burak Maternity Teaching Hospital, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeynep
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Eras
authors.forename: Suna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oğuz
authors.forename: Evrim Alyamac
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Dizdar
authors.forename: Fatma Nur
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Sari
authors.forename: Uğur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dilmen
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein; D002097:C-Reactive Protein