Necrotizing enterocolitis
Nature Reviews Disease Primers, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41572-026-00698-7
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a severe gastrointestinal disease that predominantly occurs in premature infants. This Primer provides an overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis and summarizes future research directions for the field.













