Abstract
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is an important cause of mortality in the neonatal intensive care unit, and a rare finding in term neonates. We report a case of NEC in a 15 day old term neonate who presented to urgency care with fever and abdominal distension. He had a severe course of illness with pneumoperitoneum and hemodynamic instability and required surgical intervention with extensive intestinal resection. This case is particular due to the absence of classical risk factors for NEC (congenital cardiopathy, perinatal hypoxia, cow milk protein allergy) and to the more severe clinical presentation than most cases of NEC in term patients. Furthermore, the late start of symptoms and small intestine necrosis rather than colonic were unusual. NEC diagnosis is a challenge in term neonates due to the unspecific signs and symptoms it can present and its low prevalence in this group.