Impact of Changes in Gut Microbiota Structure and Function on the Physical Growth and Development of Infants and Young Children After Enterostomy for Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis
ZOU Shaqin
ZHOU Guifen
WEN Jing
LIU Dan
HAO Yutian
ZHANG Xiaoxu
Abstract：Objective:To explore the influence of changes in the structure and function of intestinal flora after enterostomy for neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis(NEC)on the physical growth and development of infants and young children.Method:22 children with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis(NEC)after enterostomy admitted to Shenzhen Children's Hospital were selected as the observation group,and 22 healthy infants and young children during the same period were selected as the control group.Fecal samples were collected at multiple time points,and 16S ribosomal RNA(16S rRNA)sequencing was performed to analyze the intestinal flora.Growth and development indicators were recorded simultaneously to analyze the relationship between the characteristics of the flora and growth and development.Result:The diversity index of intestinal flora in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Six months after fistula closure,the microbiota structure in the observation group gradually recovered.Compared with the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The functional analysis of the intestinal flora in the observation group showed that the expression of genes related to carbohydrate metabolism decreased,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.01).The structural changes of the microbiota were positively correlated with the body mass index(BMI)(r=0.726,P<0.01).Conclusion:The recovery after fistula closure is slow.The changes in the structure and function of the microbiota are closely related to delayed physical growth and development.The growth and development of children can be improved by regulating the intestinal microbiota.
Keywords：Necrotizing enterocolitisEnterostomyGut microbiotaGrowth16S rRNA
Publication Date：2026-01-05
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-23(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 5-8 )