Term neonates with hemolytic disease of the newborn and necrotizing enterocolitis: a report of two cases.

Necrotizing enterocolitis in term infants is uncommon, and when it occurs it is usually associated with risk factors such as asphyxia, congenital heart disease, or polycythemia. It has been reported in term neonates after exchange transfusion for hemolytic disease of the newborn; therefore exchange transfusion is recognized as a risk factor. We report two term neonates with hemolytic disease of the newborn resulting from anti-c rhesus incompatibility in whom necrotizing enterocolitis developed before exchange transfusions. These cases implicate hemolytic disease of the newborn without exchange transfusion as a risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis in term infants.