Neonatal seizure: etiology and type

ABSTRACT

Neonates, for many reasons, are at particular risk for the development of seizures, which are a strong predictor of later morbidity and mortality in infants. We undertook this study to determine the incidence, etiologic distribution and neonatal seizure type in neonates with hospital admission over a period of 4 years. This, a retrospective study of newborns admitted in hospital with a diagnosis of neonatal seizures, was conducted over a 4 year period between March 2001 and March 2005. Data were obtained from hospital records was analyzed using the Chi-square test. Of 4541 newborns, admitted to hospital, during the study period, seizures occurred in 110 neonates. The incidence of neonatal seizures was 2.4%; the causes of neonatal seizure were Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy [HIE] - 36.4%, infections -19.1%, metabolic abnormalities - 7.3%, Intra Cranial Hemorrhage [ICH] - 2.7%, structural disorders - 1.8% and in 32.7% of cases, the cause was unknown. Subtle seizures [39.1%] were the most common type of seizures; and the other types were myoclonic [17.3%], clonic [10.0%], Tonic [7.3%], Generalized Tonic Clonic Seizures [GTCS] [12.7%] and in 13.6% of cases the type of seizure was not mentioned. Mortality rate was 13.6%. Health care workers and parents need to be made aware of subtle seizures and the importance of timely and appropriate treatment to decrease any further complications