LAUSR

Clinical management of gut injury has been a challenge to the clinician since the first description of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) about 50 years ago, and it is still poorly defined. Most of the diagnostic markers are non-specific, and there is no consensus yet on a reliable gold standard for diagnosis. This report describes our approach to integrating point of care intestinal ultrasound (IUS) as the primary radiological assessment modality with other clinical and biochemical markers. Conclusions : This is the first clinical guideline integrating point of care IUS as a routine assessment of the gut injury. This integrated algorithm improves the quality of care of the gut injury, provides a more accurate diagnosis of NEC, and differentiates other categories of gut injury. What is Known: • Necrotizing enterocolitis is a poorly defined disease, and the routine assessment relying on AXR does not differentiate NEC from other categories of gut injury. What is New: • Integrating point of care IUS with the routine clinical assessment of gut injury enables the gut injury to be classified according to the triggering factors and severity; this helps target the appropriate management.