An integrative review on, The Early Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Research Paper

An integrative review on, The Early Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in the neonate - Research Paper Example Integrative review is considered as the most appropriate for the research undertaken because it can present a holistic and encompassing view of the disease. Discussion. Through the integrative review conducted, different issues related to the signs and symptoms of necrotizing enterocolitis came into focus. Parameters in the different articles such as the gestational age of the neonate, the feeding start, the onset of signs and symptoms of NEC, the interventions and the management method for the condition, and the outcome of the neonate were given attention. In addition, the strengths and limitations of each research process had also been identified. Early Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonate Introduction Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is defined as a disease that can be acquired by preterm or sick neonates described to have mucosal or even deeper intestinal necrosis (Merck, 2007). The condition is considered as the most common cause of gastro intestinal medical or surgical emergency in neonates affecting approximately 10 percent of the infants with the weight of less than 1500 g. The vague etiology of the disease is related to the rate of mortality which is 50 percent mortality depending on the severity of the case (Springer and Rosenkrantz, 2011). Background of the Study Based on empirical evidences, NEC affects 2 to 5 percent of the total preterm infants. Majority of the cases occurs in less than 36 weeks of the gestational age. In addition, there are different risk factors that are related to the disease based on records such as history of hypoxia, asphyxia and the introduction of enteral feeding. Another condition which can increase the risk of NEC based on different studies is cyanotic heart disease (Puri and Hollwarth, 2009, p.435). In addition to the said risk factors, the presence of the 3 intestinal factors such as preceding ischemic insult, bacterial colonization, and intraluminal substrate can also contribute to the prevalence of NEC (Merck, 2007). For the purpose of the study, such risk factors and related parameters were considered as the focal points of the study undertaken. The said factors were considered as early indications of the possible onset of the disease. Other factors such as geographical origin, ethnicity or gender have no proven effects on the prevalence and occurrence of NEC (Puri and Hollwarth, 2009, p.435). Determining, presenting, and discussing the early onset of NEC is important for possible prevention of the fatal effects of the disease. The study was able to achieve its objectives based on chosen empirical and primary researches focused on the early signs and symptoms of necrotizing enterocolitis. The determination of the onset of the disease can be considered as the most important method to lessen mortality and to resolve the problem on the lack of effective treatment to NEC. Study Design and Data Sources The primary phase in the integrative review of the early signs and symptoms of NEC is the search for data sources which will be included in the study. Different databases such as CINAHL, EBSCOHost and PubMed were used to find five journal articles that explored NEC in different perspectives and with a focus on the diagnosis and clinical signs and symptoms of the disease. In the search for the data sources, there are factors considered for inclusion and exclusion of journal