Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn

We report the case of an infant born at 28 weeks of gestation with a history of intestinal dysmotility over the first week of life, which was solved with the introduction of erythromycin. The infant was fed with breast milk and sporadic doses of special formula for preterm newborns. On the 17th day...

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Main Authors: Clara Preto, Dulce Oliveira, Ana Cristina Braga, Rosa Lima, Elisa Proença
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hygeia Press di Corridori Marinella 2017-01-01
Series:Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/388
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author Clara Preto
Dulce Oliveira
Ana Cristina Braga
Rosa Lima
Elisa Proença
author_facet Clara Preto
Dulce Oliveira
Ana Cristina Braga
Rosa Lima
Elisa Proença
author_sort Clara Preto
collection DOAJ
description We report the case of an infant born at 28 weeks of gestation with a history of intestinal dysmotility over the first week of life, which was solved with the introduction of erythromycin. The infant was fed with breast milk and sporadic doses of special formula for preterm newborns. On the 17th day of life, post conceptional age of 30 weeks, she presented an episode of necrotizing enterocolitis treated with antibiotics. On the 45th day of life, post conceptional age of 34 weeks, the infant presented episodes of apnea, hemodynamic instability, abdominal distension, vomiting and mucous and bloody stools. Owing to the suspicion of a new episode of necrotizing enterocolitis, feeding was stopped and antibiotic therapy was started. Hypereosinophilia was detected in peripheral blood and tests were positive for specific IgE antibodies to cow’s milk proteins. Antibiotics were stopped after negative sepsis workups and feeding with breastmilk and extensively hydrolyzed formula was resumed. The newborn presented with good tolerance. Diagnosing allergy to cow’s milk protein in a newborn infant requires a high degree of suspicion, as it presents with non-specific symptoms. In most cases it manifests as non-IgE-mediated proctocolitis and cases of enterocolitis with specific IgE antibodies to cow’s milk proteins are rare. Some authors argue that the development of cow’s milk protein allergy requires an immunological maturation level not present before a gestational age of 30-32 weeks. Therefore, in preterm newborns, there may be an asymptomatic period of life with subsequent development of an allergy. In the case described, the diagnosis of IgE-mediated cow’s milk protein allergy was confirmed at 34 weeks of post conceptional age. However, the question remains whether the previous digestive symptoms were related to the allergy subsequently diagnosed.
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spelling doaj.art-ce91df5661724664b2e6a5a5d46e9dd62022-12-21T19:04:49ZengHygeia Press di Corridori MarinellaJournal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine2281-06922017-01-0161e060116e06011610.7363/060116327Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newbornClara Preto0Dulce Oliveira1Ana Cristina Braga2Rosa Lima3Elisa Proença4Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Centro Materno Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, PortugalNeonatal Intensive Care Unit, Centro Materno Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, PortugalNeonatal Intensive Care Unit, Centro Materno Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, PortugalPediatric Gastroenterology Department, Centro Materno Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, PortugalNeonatal Intensive Care Unit, Centro Materno Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, PortugalWe report the case of an infant born at 28 weeks of gestation with a history of intestinal dysmotility over the first week of life, which was solved with the introduction of erythromycin. The infant was fed with breast milk and sporadic doses of special formula for preterm newborns. On the 17th day of life, post conceptional age of 30 weeks, she presented an episode of necrotizing enterocolitis treated with antibiotics. On the 45th day of life, post conceptional age of 34 weeks, the infant presented episodes of apnea, hemodynamic instability, abdominal distension, vomiting and mucous and bloody stools. Owing to the suspicion of a new episode of necrotizing enterocolitis, feeding was stopped and antibiotic therapy was started. Hypereosinophilia was detected in peripheral blood and tests were positive for specific IgE antibodies to cow’s milk proteins. Antibiotics were stopped after negative sepsis workups and feeding with breastmilk and extensively hydrolyzed formula was resumed. The newborn presented with good tolerance. Diagnosing allergy to cow’s milk protein in a newborn infant requires a high degree of suspicion, as it presents with non-specific symptoms. In most cases it manifests as non-IgE-mediated proctocolitis and cases of enterocolitis with specific IgE antibodies to cow’s milk proteins are rare. Some authors argue that the development of cow’s milk protein allergy requires an immunological maturation level not present before a gestational age of 30-32 weeks. Therefore, in preterm newborns, there may be an asymptomatic period of life with subsequent development of an allergy. In the case described, the diagnosis of IgE-mediated cow’s milk protein allergy was confirmed at 34 weeks of post conceptional age. However, the question remains whether the previous digestive symptoms were related to the allergy subsequently diagnosed.https://www.jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/388allergycow’s milkige-mediatedenterocolitispreterm newborn
spellingShingle Clara Preto
Dulce Oliveira
Ana Cristina Braga
Rosa Lima
Elisa Proença
Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine
allergy
cow’s milk
ige-mediated
enterocolitis
preterm newborn
title Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
title_full Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
title_fullStr Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
title_full_unstemmed Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
title_short Allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
title_sort allergic enterocolitis in a preterm newborn
topic allergy
cow’s milk
ige-mediated
enterocolitis
preterm newborn
url https://www.jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/388
work_keys_str_mv AT clarapreto allergicenterocolitisinapretermnewborn
AT dulceoliveira allergicenterocolitisinapretermnewborn
AT anacristinabraga allergicenterocolitisinapretermnewborn
AT rosalima allergicenterocolitisinapretermnewborn
AT elisaproenca allergicenterocolitisinapretermnewborn