Neonatal seizures: Etiology and Frequency

ObjectiveNeonates, for many reasons, are at particular risk for the development ofseizures, which are a strong predictor of later morbidity and mortality ininfants.We undertook this study to determine the incidence, etiologic distributionand neonatal seizure type in neonates with hospital admission over a periodof 4 years.Materials and MethodsThis, a retrospective study of newborns admitted in hospital with a diagnosisof neonatal seizures, was conducted over a 4 year period between March2001 and March 2005.Data were obtained from hospital records was analyzed using the Chi-squaretest.ResultsOf 4541 newborns, admitted to hospital, during the study period, seizuresoccurred in 110 neonates. The incidence of neonatal seizures was 2.4%; thecauses of neonatal seizure were Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)- 36.4%, infections -19.1%, metabolic abnormalities - 7.3%, Intra CranialHemorrhage (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 othertypes were myoclonic (17.3%), clonic (10.0%), Tonic (7.3%), GeneralizedTonic Clonic Seizures (GTCS) (12.7%) and in 13.6% of cases the type ofseizure was not mentioned. Mortality rate was 13.6%.ConclusionHealth care workers and parents need to be made aware of subtle seizuresand the importance of timely and appropriate treatment to decrease anyfurther complications.