Different strokes – an appraisal of paediatric strokes

Although stroke is often thought of as an adult disease, it is a leading cause of infant and childhood morbidity and mortality. Stroke in the paediatric population is often complex due to interplaying multifactorial risk factors and unique imaging challenges. This results in a high frequency of delayed or missed diagnoses. Imaging plays a vital role in the diagnosis and management.

In this article we will describe the epidemiology of paediatric stroke, which we define as between 28 days to 16 years of age, and consider how the age of the child influences the aetiology and clinical manifestation. We will discuss imaging these children, highlighting specific challenges and considerations. Finally, we discuss more common causes of arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS) in infants and older children.

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