Children with post stroke headache at high risk of another Stroke

USA: Pediatric patients who survived stroke commonly encounter remote poststroke headache particularly the older children, finds a recent study published in the journal Neurology: Clinical Practice. And, the poststroke headache was associated with greater risk for stroke recurrence.

New-onset headache after stroke is common in adult stroke survivors. Headaches may increase health care utilization, including neuroimaging and hospital admissions. However, related data on pediatric patients is limited. Ana B. Chelse, M.D., from Northwestern University in Chicago, and colleagues investigated the prevalence of new-headache after pediatric ischemic stroke. And, described the characteristics of patients experiencing poststroke headache and the association between poststroke headache and stroke recurrence.

To determine the same, the researchers retrospectively studied 115 children (aged 30 days to 18 years) with a confirmed radiographic diagnosis of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) at a single institution from 2008 through 2016.

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Key findings of the study include:

• 36 percent of pediatric patients with confirmed AIS experienced a poststroke headache at a median of 6 months after stroke.


• Just over half of patients with poststroke headache (51 percent) presented to the emergency department for headache evaluation and 81 percent of these patients were admitted as an inpatient for headache.


• Development of poststroke headache was associated with older age at stroke and arteriopathy in a multivariable analysis.


• During the study period, 17 patients (15 percent) had a recurrent stroke.


• There was a possible association between poststroke headache and a greater risk for stroke recurrence.

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"Remote poststroke headache is common morbidity among pediatric stroke survivors, particularly in older children. Headaches may increase health care utilization, including neuroimaging and hospital admissions. We identified a possible association between poststroke headache and stroke recurrence," write the authors.

"Improved identification of children at risk for headache, early treatment and lifestyle modifications, may reduce morbidity and improve quality of life for survivors of childhood stroke," they concluded.

To read the complete study log on to https://doi.org/10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000652