title: [Stroke in children. Experience in an emergency service].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the characteristics of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in patients treated in a paediatric emergency department and to detect clinical differences, depending on whether the condition was ischaemic or haemorrhagic.
  
  
  METHODS
  An analytical, observation-based, retrospective study was conducted in the paediatric emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. The sample included patients aged between 1 month and 18 years who were treated in the service over a period of 10 years (January 2001 to December 2011) with a final diagnosis of CVD. Haemorrhages due to traumatic injury or secondary to tumours, thrombosis of the venous sinuses and patients who were not treated in the service were all excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The final sample consisted of 61 patients, 39 (63.9%) of whom were males, with a mean age of 4.6 years (range: 1.3 months-17.5 years). Of them, 26 (42.6%) presented ischaemic CVD and 35 (57.4%) had haemorrhagic CVD. Headache (n = 20; 57.1%; p = 0.008) and vomiting (n = 25; 71.4%; p = 0.001) are more frequent in haemorrhagic CVD, and hemiparesis (n = 17; 65.4%; p < 0.001) and facial palsy (n = 7; 26.9%; p = 0.001) in ischaemic CVD. The main causes of haemorrhagic CVD are arteriovenous malformations (n = 17; 38.6%) and the ischaemic ones are triggered by arteriopathies (n = 6; 42.3%). On discharge from hospital, 27 (44.3%) presented different degrees of disability and 6 (9.8%) died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CVD is a rare entity, although it presents a high morbidity and mortality rate. Haemorrhagic CVD is seen to predominate slightly and it is observed how haemorrhagic CVD presents more often with signs of intracranial hypertension, while the ischaemic form tends to have more neurological focus.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat, Espana.
authors.forename: Malka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huici-Sánchez
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Escuredo-Argullós
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Trenchs-Sáinz de la Maza
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luaces-Cubells
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000453:epidemiology; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*