Necrotizing Enterocolitis Online Course(s) & Continuing Education
Access the latest clinical skills and research for Necrotizing Enterocolitis for NEONATOLOGY professional training. These Necrotizing Enterocolitis online courses provide practice-changing skills and valuable perspectives from leading global experts. This Necrotizing Enterocolitis education has been accredited for a variety of CEUs / CERPs and can be accessed on-demand, at your own pace.
Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC: Pathophysiology, Current Treatment, and Prevention
Bobby Bellflower is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner with extensive experience in clinical practice, education, and administration. Her undergraduate nursing degree is from University of Memphis, and her masters and doctorate is from University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). Currently, she is the Director of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Programs at UTHSC in Memphis, TN and does her clinical practice at Regional One Health, Level IIIc NICU. In the past, she served as director of the NNP program at UTHSC and, most recently (2010-2016), was the manager of the NNP Service at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Her research interests include prevention of NEC in neonates, evidence-based practice for APRNs and bedside nurses, and QIs.
Although survival rates and morbidity of premature and ill newborns have improved over the past decades, Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) remains a significant problem for premature babies. NEC is a disease process that continues to contribute to mortality and morbidly in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Recent studies indicate there are ways to diminish the incidence of NEC and research is actively looking for ways to prevent NEC. The presentation will discuss presumed causes and pathophysiology of NEC, current treatment guidelines including drug treatment, and will look at ongoing research to prevent NEC.
Leslie Parker has a dual position at the College of Nursing and the College of Medicine at the University of Florida where she is a professor. She has been a neonatal nurse practitioner since 1990 and continues to practice as a neonatal nurse practitioner in the NICU at UF Health. She was the tract coordinator of the neonatal nurse practitioner program from 1992-2011. She has been involved in human milk research for nearly two decades and focuses on improving milk production in mothers of critically ill and premature infants. She is funded by the National Institutes of Health for her team’s work regarding neonatal nutrition including the risk of feeding tube contamination, risks and benefits of gastric residual evaluation and optimizing consumption of breast milk for preterm infants.
Until recently, routine monitoring of gastric residuals has been standard care in most neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Rationale for this practice includes early recognition of feeding intolerance and necrotizing enterocolitis. However, gastric residuals are often used to direct feeding decisions and thus their use can result in delays and interruptions in feeding resulting in an increased risk of complications. Recent evidence suggests that the routine monitoring of gastric residuals prior to every feeding may not be clinically necessary and other clinical indicators may be sufficient to monitor for feeding intolerance and necrotizing enterocolitis. This presentation will describe practices clinicians are currently using to monitor gastric residuals In addition, an overview of current evidence including the risks and benefits of monitoring gastric residuals, alternatives to monitoring gastric residuals, and how to best change unit practice in order to decrease the routine use of aspirating and evaluating gastric residuals prior to every feeding will be presented.
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