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Abstract

 BACKGROUND:Stroke in children is a serious disorder in which little has been published. Population-basedestimates of the annual incidence of childhood stroke (ischemic and haemorrhagic) range from 2·3to 13·0 per 100 000 children and incidence rates in neonates are closer to 1 per 5000 live birthsCONCLUSION:To determine clinical presentation, etiologies, diagnostic procedures, treatment options andoutcome of children with stroke.METHODS:Descriptive study of patients with stroke admitted to Children Welfare Teaching Hospital/Baghdadfrom October 2011 to September 2012 was conducted. Cases were classified radiologically intoischemic stroke (IS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS) and their management modalities were studied.RESULTS:Out of 21 patients; 13 (61.9%) had hemorrhagic and 8 (38.1%) had ischemic stroke. Female:maleratio was 1.3:1. Haemorrhagic stroke was more among males and infants; ischemic stroke wasmore among females and older children. In 16 (76%) patients, the diagnosis was established aftermore than 24 hours of onset. Patients with ischemic stroke spend longer time in hospital. Seizurewas the commonest clinical feature in both types (17 patients (81%)) followed by altered mentalstatus (16 patients (76.2%)). CT-scan was abnormal in 20 patients and MRI in 11 patients.Complete recovery was noticed in 7 (54%) patients with hemorrhagic type, while 7 (87.5%)patients with ischemic type recovered with sequelae.CONCLUSION:Stroke was more common among female and children younger than 12 months. Seizure and alteredmental status were the commonest presentations. A delay in performing neuroimaging was obviousin the current study. Patients with ischemic stroke tend to spend longer time in hospital. Antibioticwere the medication most often used. The majority of children were discharged well.

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