{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T19:56:51Z","timestamp":1786564611803,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,9]],"date-time":"2024-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1725840000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The bloody stools of newborns may be a clue for several clinical entities of varying severity, ranging from idiopathic neonatal transient colitis to food-protein-induced allergic proctocolitis (FPIAP) or necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Distinguishing among them at an early stage is challenging but crucial, as the treatments and prognoses are different. We conducted a monocentric retrospective study including all pre-term infants with bloody stools admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Vittore Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital (Milan) from December 2022 to May 2024. Patients diagnosed with NEC exhibited significantly lower eosinophil counts and higher procalcitonin levels than both patients with FPIAP and patients with idiopathic neonatal transient colitis, as well as a statistically significant increase in pathological features from abdomen ultrasounds and abdominal X-rays. In contrast, no lab markers or imaging techniques have been demonstrated to be useful in distinguishing between idiopathic neonatal transient colitis and FPIAP. Thus, after excluding a diagnosis of NEC, the only way to confirm FPIAP is through the oral food challenge, which can be performed in premature newborns presenting with bloody stools who are otherwise healthy and under medical supervision, in order to identify infants who may benefit from a cow\u2019s-milk-free diet.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu16173036","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,9]],"date-time":"2024-09-09T04:15:01Z","timestamp":1725855301000},"page":"3036","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Food-Protein-Induced Proctocolitis in Pre-Term Newborns with Bloody Stools in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2750-5810","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enza","family":"D\u2019Auria","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9681-5356","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Cavigioli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miriam","family":"Acunzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paola Azzurra","family":"La Verde","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Di Gallo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carolina","family":"Piran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3153-0977","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lodovico","family":"Sterzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Pediatric Clinical Research Center \u201cRomeo and Enrica Invernizzi\u201d, University of Milan, 20157 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2795-9874","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gian Vincenzo","family":"Zuccotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6636-5673","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gianluca","family":"Lista","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.15586\/aei.v51i4.872","article-title":"A Different Starting Line for Allergic March: Food Protein-Induced Allergic Proctocolitis","volume":"51","author":"Bahceci","year":"2023","journal-title":"Allergol. 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