Background & Objectives: Neonatal period is a vulnerable time in
which the newborn has to adapt to a totally new environment and is
susceptible to many problems, which may even be life threatening. Every
year, millions of neonates are born and a large proportion of them are
admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for various
indications. It is found that neonatal mortality rate is decreasing in Nepal
but at a slower pace than infant and child mortality. In order to improve
neonatal outcome, it is crucial to identify the areas where health care can
be improved. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the clinical
profile, pattern of diseases and common causes of mortality and morbidity
in neonates admitted to neonatology unit. Materials & Methods: A
retrospective study was conducted at neonatology unit of BPKIHS, from
January 2014 to December 2014. A total of 1009 neonates (both inborn
and out-born) were admitted to neonatology division during the study
period. Data was collected from the hospital record section. Ethical
clearance was taken from the institutional ethical committee before the
initiation of the study. Data was entered and descriptive analysis was done
by using SPSS 20.0. Results: Total of 1009 neonates were admitted in
neonatology unit. Among them, 349(34.5%) cases were admitted due
neonatal sepsis, 236 (23.3%) due to prematurity and 233 (23.1%) with
birth asphyxia. Among birth asphyxia, 102(43.7%) were in HIE III, 34.3%
and 21.8% in HIE II and HIE I, respectively. The overall mortality was 47
(4.7%) during hospital stay. Conclusion: Sepsis, prematurity and birth
asphyxia were major causes for admission in NICU. All these etiologies
are preventable up to some extent and, if detected earlier, can be
effectively treated in order to reduce morbidity and mortality.