Gut microbiota
Bacteroides were isolated with a significantly higher frequency in the NEC group (42%) than non- NEC group (14%) and healthy controls (13%), which was statistically significant. There was a nonsignificant trend towards higher isolation of Clostridium in children with NEC (37% vs 19%). Interestingly, neither Clostridiodes difficlenor Clostridium septicum, a well-recognised pathogenic species, were isolated in any sample. The ‘healthy bacteria’- Lactobacillus species were isolated in 26% of children with NEC as compared to 74% and 80% in non-NEC group and healthy controls respectively, which was statistically significant. The other ‘healthy bacteria’ Bifidobacterium was not isolated in any of the samples. The proportion of other anaerobic bacteria likeVeillonella and aerobic flora like E. coli, Klebsiella, Enterococcus and Citrobacter was similar among the groups (Table 4).