Suspected fetal onset of neonatal transient eosinophilic colitis and development of respiratory distress.

Neonatal transient eosinophilic colitis (NTEC) is a new disease concept within eosinophilic gastroenteritis, which was proposed by Ohtsuka et al. It causes hematochezia as a result of eosinophilia, in neonates who have not yet started to receive enteral nutrition, although the whole-body status of the infant is in fact relatively good. To date, there have been no reports of this disease in which abnormalities were noted during gestation, and the clinical phenomena surrounding it, along with any complications, are not yet clear. We encountered a suspected case of NTEC causing respiratory distress with aspiration of hematochezia, in which dilated bowel was noted during gestation. This case indicates that NTEC may occur at the fetal stage and be complicated by respiratory distress.