Clinicoetiological profile of neonatal seizure in a newborn care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Northern India

Objective: The aim was to study the clinicoetiological profile of neonatal seizure in a newborn care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Northern India. Materials and Methods: This prospective hospital-based observational study enrolled all term and preterm newborns admitted to the newborn care unit with the first sign of seizure activity occurring within 28 days of life. Results: Out of 75 neonates admitted with neonatal seizure, 49 (65.33%) were male and 26 (34.60%) were female. Majority (52, 69.93%) were term babies. Subtle seizures (39.13%) were most common in both preterm babies (39.13%) and term (53.85%) babies. Age of onset was <24 h of life in 53.33% of the babies. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) was the most common cause (52%) of neonatal seizure. Conclusion: The most common cause of neonatal seizure in both preterm and full-term neonates was HIE followed by meningitis. The most common metabolic cause was hypocalcemia. The majority of the patients developed seizures within 24 h of life.