Clinico-Etiological Profile and Outcome of Neonatal Respiratory Distress

Introduction: Respiratory distress (RD) syndrome is a common cause of admission in the neonatal unit. It poses a diagnostic dilemma. Early recognition of RD and initiation of appropriate treatment is important to ensure optimal outcomes. RD is one of the most common causes of morbidity in newborn. Aims and Objectives: (i) To study clinical profile of neonatal RD (NRD), (ii) to find out most common etiology of RD in newborn, (iii) to assess the immediate clinical outcome of RD in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted at Kannur Medical College Kannur from January 2015 to July 2015 and study includes 102 cases. Term, pre-term and post-term babies both in-borns and out-borns cases were included in the study. Results and Discussion: The study showed among the 300 newborns admitted in NICU, 102 (34 %) cases were admitted with RD. Of them, 61 babies (60%) were delivered vaginally and 41 (40%) by lower segment caesarean section. There were 44 (43%) pre-term babies, 56 (55%) term and 2 (2%) post-term neonates who were admitted with RD. The most common causes of NRD were transient tachypnea of newborn (TTN) 44%. The majority of cases clinically presented with tachypnea, flaring of alae nasi, and chest indrawing. The RD resolved on the 4th day in majority of cases. Conclusion: Increased respiratory rate along with chest in drawing or grunt was the presentation of RD in the majority of cases. The survival rate was 98% among RD cases admitted to NICU. TTN was the most common cause and was observed maximally in babies delivered vaginally (70%).