PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH NEONATAL SEIZURES AMONG NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU) PATIENTS AT BANADIR HOSPITAL, MOGADISHU

Fowzia Dahir Mohamed, Ismael Ahmed Omar and Fahmo Hussein ibrahim

ABSTRACT

Background: A seizure is caused by sudden, abnormal and excessive electrical activity in the brain. By definition, neonatal seizures occur during the neonatal period for a full-term infant, the first 28 days of life. Most occur in the first one to two days to the first week of a baby's life. Premature or low birth weight babies are more likely to suffer neonatal seizures. The neonatal period is the most vulnerable of all periods of life for developing seizures, particularly in the first 1–2 days to the first week from birth. They may be short-lived events lasting for a few days only. Objective: To examine the prevalence and risk factors associated with neonatal seizures among Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients at Banadir Hospital, Mogadishu. Methods: This research is quantitative in nature and cross-sectional data collected from 154 respondents. Reason for the selection of this research design is based on multiple reasons i.e. low cost, to get data from large number of respondent in shorter time period and the evaluation of the results proceeded without problems. The sample size was 154 respondents. Results: As regard neonatal seizures, respondents were asked whether they know about its prevalence and here are the findings. The study results revealed that 57.8% of the respondents noted that the seizure onset in their babies lasted for or less than 48 hours and the remaining 42.2% of the respondents noted that their babies had the seizure for more than 48 hours. Therefore most of the respondents had their babies go through seizures onset for less than 48 hours. Conclusion: Finally, neurological problems upon discharge and longer hospital stays were associated with infants with seizures. Seizures are common in newborns as well. Seizures are typically brought on by infections, notably meningitis, and birth-related conditions such infant encephalopathy. The high prevalence may be reduced by public health interventions to ensure safe deliveries, appropriate neonatal resuscitation, and infection control throughout the newborn period. Recommendations: Studies suggest that children should seek treatment if they have clinically evident seizures that last longer than 3 minutes or if they have brief, recurrent seizures. All electrical seizures, even if not clinically evident, should be treated in a specialized facility where electroencephalography is available. However, cardiac monitoring is required with phenytoin or lidocaine. Benzodiazepines, phenytoin, or lidocaine may be used as second-line therapy to control seizures in neonates whose seizures continue after the maximum tolerated dose of phenobarbital is administered.

Keywords: Neonatal Seizures, Electroencephalography (EEG), Neonatal Convulsions, Baby's Airway, Breathing, and Circulation (TABC), Anti-epileptic drug therapy (AED), Neonatals.