Childhood arterial ischaemic stroke

amer — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:53:08 +0000

This review of articles and research papers ( Lancet Neurology 2008; 7:425-435) regarding the subject of childhood stroke is useful to both stroke physicians and pediatricians. Amlie-Lefond C et al, mentioned that stroke is increasingly recognised as a cause of childhood disability and lifelong morbidity.
Diagnosis of stroke in children is often delayed owing to low clinical suspicion and the need to exclude the frequent mimics of stroke in childhood. Outcomes are related to presentation, associated illnesses, the underlying cause, size, and location of the infarct, and stroke subtype, but more than a half of the children who have had a stroke will have long-term neurological sequelae. Furthermore, estimates of recurrence rates range from 6–19% in the first few years. Arteriopathy—including arterial dissection and other progressive and non-progressive arteriopathies—might account for up to 80% of childhood stroke in otherwise healthy children. Because children with cerebrovascular abnormalities are at the highest risk of recurrence (66% at 5 years), understanding of the nature and course of these arteriopathies is crucial to the development of secondary stroke prevention strategies.

Stroke Update » children

Childhood arterial ischaemic stroke