title: Stroke in Saudi children.
abstract: This study reports the clinical features and neuroimaging correlates of stroke in Saudi children seen over a 5-year period at the King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. During the study period, 31 (18 boys, 13 girls; mean age, 26.2 months) of the 20,895 children seen had stroke; the annual stroke incidence was 29.7 per 100,000 in the pediatric population. Ischemic strokes accounted for 90% and hemorrhagic 10% of the cases, respectively. The boys-to-girls ratio for ischemic stroke was 2:1. Cranial computed tomographic scans and magnetic resonance imaging findings were abnormal in 82% and 91%, respectively. The etiologic factor was undetermined in 65% of the cases. Our results suggest that stroke is uncommon in Saudi children. However, further studies evaluating a larger population in different clinical settings are required to provide a more comprehensive picture of stroke in children in this area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Sulaiman
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bademosi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Magboll
mesh_terms: D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed