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Article
Pediatric Stroke Presenting as a Seizure.
Case Reports in Emergency Medicine
  • Katie Ahmadzadeh, DO, Lehigh Valley Health Network
  • Vartika Bhardwaj, MS, Lehigh Valley Health Network
  • Steven A Johnson, MD, Lehigh Valley Health Network
  • Kathleen E Kane, MD, Lehigh Valley Health Network
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2014
Abstract

Background. Childhood arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is rare and may be difficult to diagnose. Management of acute stroke in any age group is time sensitive, so awareness of the manifestations and appropriate diagnostic procedures for pediatric AIS is vital to establishing care. We present a pediatric case of arterial ischemic stroke that presented to the emergency department (ED) after two seizures. Case Report. A five-year-old female with an existing seizure disorder presented to a pediatric ED after having two seizures. Postictal upon arrival, she underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan of her head. Family reported that she had complained of a severe headache and vomited; her seizures were described as different from those she had experienced in the past. Loss of grey white matter differentiation on the CT warranted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which demonstrated a right-sided stroke. After a complicated course in the hospital, the patient was discharged to a rehabilitation hospital. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? It is important that emergency physicians recognize that a seizure may be the initial symptom of a pediatric stroke regardless of an established seizure history. Pediatric seizures are relatively common; however consideration of the diagnosis of pediatric stroke may prevent unnecessary delays in treatment.

Disciplines
PubMedID
25587467
Document Type
Article
Citation Information

Ahmadzadeh, K. L., Bhardwaj, V., Johnson, S. A., & Kane, K. E. (2014). Pediatric stroke presenting as a seizure. Case Reports In Emergency Medicine, 2014838537. doi:10.1155/2014/838537