Serious Necrotizing Enterocolitis in a Neonate Treated with Octreotide for Congenital Chylothorax

Abstract

The somatostatin analog octreotide has recently been introduced in the treatment of infants with chylothorax. The safety profile of octreotide has not been fully evaluated. Octreotide reduces the splanchnic blood flow in a dose-dependent manner, affecting the entire gastrointestinal tract. Some concern has been recently raised regarding the potential implications of this effect in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates receiving octreotide for congenital hyperinsulinism or chylothorax. To our knowledge, there is no case report linking the use of octreotide with necrotizing enterocolitis in Korea. We report a case of serious necrotizing enterocolitis in a neonate treated with octreotide for congenital idiopathic chylothorax.