West Virginia University pediatric stroke registry: clinical description and risk factors identification in patients from a rural area.

Purpose: To develop an institutional pediatric stroke database at West Virginia University to support the classification and description of clinical and radiographic characteristics of pediatric stroke in children living in rural areas.

Methods: A custom-made database was developed using Microsoft Access to include specific query forms for data retrieval. Data were collected retrospectively from electronic medical record of pediatric patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, with emphasis on clinical presentation, risk factors, and neuroimaging studies between 2000 and 2012.

Results: In the children group, vasculitis and hypercoagulable disorders were identified less frequently than reported. In the neonate group, only extremely sick, symptomatic patents were acutely diagnosed with stroke.

Conclusion: Patients with the most common risk factors for stroke (cardiac disease) were overrepresented. This suggests that in children receiving medical attention in rural areas less common risk factors for stroke might not be identified, increasing the risk recurrence. Increased index of suspicion is needed about pediatric stroke in rural areas, and early transfer to a tertiary care center for identification of risk factors is mandatory.