Early Use of Antibiotics Is Associated with a Lower Incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm, Very Low Birth Weight Infants: The NEOMUNE-NeoNutriNet Cohort Study

This international cohort study of 2,831 VLBW preterm infants found that early antibiotic administration within 3 days of birth was associated with significantly lower NEC incidence (3.9% vs 9.0%). The protective effect persisted after adjusting for multiple confounders, though mechanisms require further investigation.