“…Using CHND, we identified infants born 32 weeks' gestation with surgical NEC from 5 participating NICUs from January 1, 2010 to March 1, 2014. Aligning with prior work (10)(11)(12), we excluded infants with intestinal perforation without NEC, volvulus, abdominal wall defects, congenital heart disease or surgical NEC that resolved before referral (10)(11)(12). We also omitted infants who died within 14 days after NEC surgery because these infants' growth outcomes, due to their mortality in a short timeframe, were considered invalid to estimate as true growth.…”