Magnitude and probable etiologies of neonatal seizure among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of Ayder comprehensive specialized hospital, Mekelle, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Objective

The objective of the study was to assess the magnitude of neonatal seizure, and its probable etiologies among neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (ACSH) in Mekelle, Tigray.   

Methods

Hospital based cross sectional study design with retrospective data collection was conducted among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Trained data collectors did the data collection process. After data was retrieved and collected from patient charts, it was cleaned, edited and entered to IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics was performed.

Results

Of those 1622 neonates admitted to NICU in the year 2018/2019, 155 neonates (9.6%) had a diagnosis of neonatal seizure. Of those 155 neonates with seizures, 62(40%) had birth asphyxia/hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), 26 (16.8%) had sepsis with Meningitis, 19 (12.3%) had Jaundice with acute bilirubin encephalopathy (ABE), 14 (9%) neonates had intracranial hemorrhage, 13 (8.4%) had hypoglycemia, 12 (7.7%) had respiratory distress (MAS & HMD), and 4 (2.6%) neonates had electrolyte abnormalities. Three (1.9%) had congenital malformation of the central nervous system and 2 (1.3%) neonates had no identified etiology on evaluations and investigations performed. 

Conclusions

Neonatal seizure was found to be a common neonatal neurological disorder among neonates visiting the tertiary hospital of ACSH in Tigray Region of Ethiopia and was found in about 9.6% of all neonatal admissions. Birth asphyxia was the commonest etiology found in neonates with seizure, followed by sepsis with meningitis, jaundice with ABEs and intracranial hemorrhage.