Clinical Profile of Neonates with Hypernatremic Dehydration in an Outborn Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

This hospital-record review describes the clinical profile of hypernatremic dehydration in neonates. 49 neonates (3.4% of the total admitted newborns) developed hypernatremic dehydration between January 2014 and August 2015. The major presenting complaints were fever (34.6%), poor feeding (42.8%), loose stools (40.8%) and lethargy (26.5%). The mean (SD) time needed for correction of hypernatremia was 38.6 (15.1) hours. Exclusively breastfed neonates had lesser complication rates of hypernatremic dehydration.