Cerebrovascular disorders in childhood: etiology, clinical presentation, and neuroimaging findings in a case series study.

Objective: To describe the main etiologies, neurological manifestations and neuro-imaging findings among children with sequelae of cerebrovascular disorders.

Method: Case series study of children whose diagnosis was stroke sequelae. Variables studied were age at the time of first episode, number of episodes, etiology, motor deficits, epilepsy, and effected vascular territory.

Results: Twenty three patients were studied. Average age at first episode was 6.91 (+/-2.08) years. Fourteen patients were female. The number of stroke events per patient ranged from one to five. The most frequent etiologies were heart disease and sickle cell anemia. The most frequent neurological deficit was right hemiparesis. Nine patients experienced seizures. The left middle cerebral artery was the most affected vascular area.

Conclusion: Our findings are similar to those described in the literature. Despite a careful investigation, some causes of stroke remain unidentified.