The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7388 p196
18 February 2006

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NEC a risk with H₂ blockers

Premature babies given H₂ antagonist drugs are slightly more likely to develop necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) — serious ulceration of the ileum and colon — according to a recent study (Pediatrics 2006;117:137).

The authors suggest that increased gastric pH, caused by H₂ antagonist treatment, may be a factor in pathogenesis of NEC. But they did not rule out the possibility that the need for such drugs could be an indication of a neonate’s fragile condition rather than an a cause of disease.