OBJECTIVE:To investigate their incidence and lethality of neonatal epileptic seizures and their associated conditions. METHODS: A retrospective observational hospital-based study was carried out in infants born between January 1995 and December 2004. The infants were followed up for four weeks after birth. Data on the prenatal, intrapartum and neonatal periods were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 6,483 deliveries resulting in 6,600 liveborn infants, 61 cases of neonatal epileptic seizures were identified (0.92%). The first seizure occurred within 12 hours after birth in 45.3% of the newborn infants. Hypertensive syndromes were present in 32.8% of mothers and intrauterine growth restriction occurred in 25.9% of the pregnancies. Of the 61 newborn infants, 91.8% were single births and 4.9% were first or second twins. In 50.8% of the infants, birthweight was below 2500g. Associated conditions were: hypoglycemia in 56.5%, jaundice in 52.1% and perinatal asphyxia in 70.7%. Thirty-two infants developed bacterial sepsis and 17 had meconium aspiration syndrome. Acid-base imbalance occurred in 68.1% during the neonatal period. Lethality was 47.4% and occurred more often among boys (65.6%) and in neonates of Afro-descendent mothers (67.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of neonatal epileptic seizures identified here was three to four times higher than the incidence found in hospitals of developed countries, although the cases characteristics were similar. Lethality rate was 47.4% and severe asphyxia was the most common pathological condition during delivery.
infant; newborn; seizures; incidence; asphyxia neonatorum
