Assessment of epidemiological profile of neonatal seizure cases admitted to a tertiary health center of Odisha, India: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background: Neonatal seizures are common manifestations of neurologic dysfunction in newborns. The incidence of' seizures in neonatal period is higher than any other period of life. It is one of the common causes of admission to special newborn care unit. Therefore, it has been decided to assess the epidemiological profile of neonatal seizure.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January2017 to June 2018, in the SNCU of MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur. A total of 300 neonates admitted to SNCU with clinically apparent seizure were the study population and convenient sampling method was used for selecting them. The approval was taken from IEC MKCG Medical College to carry out the study. The data was collected by using a pretested proforma from parents and hospital records. Verbal informed consent was taken from parents. The data so collected was analysed in the department of Pediatrics.Results: Out of the total 300 babies, 66% were males, 61.34% were early neonates,77% babies were of primi' mothers,76% of babies were outborn . 62.12% of babies were born by vaginal route. HIE was most common (88%) cause of seizure. Out of the all seizure types, subtle seizure was most common (87.67%), followed by clonic seizure (35.67%). Various maternal risk factors were present in 81.81 % of cases. Most common risk factor was anemia (50.57%).18.93% of cases were born with' history of obstructed labor/prolonged labor. Overall mortality was 8%.Conclusions: Neonatal seizures are important causes of morbidity and mortality in newborns. Prevention of HIE and maternal risk factors along with early use of an effective drug with minimum side effects are the ways to overcome this problem.