Arterial ischemic stroke in children: 22 cases from southern Tunisia.

The aim of this study is to review the cases of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) in children in our department to evaluate the clinical and neuroimaging features, the etiologies and the treatment. This study retrospectively reviewed the records of all children aged between 1 month and 16 years who were admitted from 2000 to 2010 for AIS in the pediatrics department of Hedi Chaker University hospital in Sfax, Tunisia. Twenty-two children were enrolled. The average age at stroke was 3 years and 2 months. Cardiac disease (27%) and moyamoya disease (18%) were the most common etiologies. Adverse outcome after childhood stroke includes death in 9%, recurrence in 18% and neurologic deficits in 45%.