Primary causes of neonatal deaths in a tertiary care hospital in Delhi: an autopsy study of 331 cases.

Of a total of 755 neonates who died between 1972 and 1988, 331 (43.9%) were subjected to necropsy examination. The ranking of major primary causes of neonatal death was as follows: infections 27.2%, hyaline membrane disease 20.2%, congenital malformations 19.6%, perinatal anoxia 14.5%, immaturity 5.1% and birth trauma 2.7%. Over the years, the prevalence of infections as the cause of death has consistently declined. Compared with that in other contemporary Indian studies, the prevalence of hyaline membrane disease is higher and that of infections and perinatal anoxia relatively lower.