Pediatria pre prax 4/2021

Stroke in children from pediatrician perspective

Stroke is still considered a health problem in the adult population, causing significant morbidity and mortality. However, they are also a serious cause of acquired brain damage in pediatric patients. Stroke in children is a rare disease with an incidence of 3 to 25 cases per 100 000 population. The clinical manifestation depends on the age of the child. The younger the child is, the less specific are the symptoms and the more difficult is to diagnose stroke. It is precisely because of the wide range of clinical manifestations that this disease is underdiagnosed and is not considered. Late diagnosis and treatment significantly worsen the prognosis and quality of life, because in both adults and children, „time is the brain“. The review article points to the issue of stroke in children. The authors also present their own group of patients with ischemic stroke treated on 2nd Children’s Clinic SZU in Banska Bystrica in 2017 – 2020.

Keywords: stroke in children, risk factors for stroke in children, treatment of stroke in children