Objective: To evaluate the relationship between blood transfusion and the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very low birth weight infants. Methods: Several databases

such as Embase

PubMed and the Cochrane Library

were retrieved to obtain relevant case studies and randomized controlled trials of transfusion-related NEC in very low birth weight infants

and other sources for case studies and randomized controlled trials related to blood transfusion-induced NEC in very low birth weight infants from the database establishment to December 2021. The relevant literature

data

and methodological quality were extracted and evaluated by two reviewers independently. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5. 3 software. Results: In total

17 articles were included in this study

3 of which were cohort studies

and 14 of them were case control studies. Among the 17 studies

three suggested that blood transfusion could significantly increase the risk of NEC in very low birth weight infants

while 14 suggested that blood transfusion did not significantly increase the risk of NEC in very low birth weight infants. After combining the results of 17 literatures

it was found that blood transfusion did not significantly increase the risk of NEC in very low birth weight newborns (OR=1. 44

95%CI 0. 87-2. 37

P> 0. 05. Conclusion: Blood transfusion cannot significantly alter the risk of NEC in very low birth weight neonates.