**11.3 Financial burden of NEC**

The average total treatment cost of one case of NEC is US \$500,000 [62, 63]. Total annual estimated cost of care of NEC in the United States is between \$500 million and \$1 billion. Infants with NEC are hospitalized for 60 days longer than unaffected preterm infants if surgery is performed and >20 days longer if surgery is not required. Bowel resection—one of the most severe complications of NEC—is the major cause of short bowel syndrome in pediatric patients, making 95% of all such cases. The total mean cost of care over a 5-year period for a child with the short bowel syndrome has been estimated to be nearly \$1.5 million.
