Standard Treatment For Adults With Severe Stroke Also Helpful For Children

A minimally invasive procedure that is often used for treating adults with severe ischemic stroke is also useful for treating children, according to a new paper.

Brain Stroke

Brain Stroke

The procedure, mechanical thrombectomy, is a standard method of care for adults having a large vessel occlusion. This form of severe ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a large blood vessel, thereby obstructing the flow of blood to the brain.

This treatment involves the use of an endovascular device, such as a catheter, to clear blocked arteries in the brain. Experts say the odds of a patient enjoying functional independence following recovery from a stroke depend on how quickly enough they undergo this procedure.

The new paper presented at the recent annual meeting of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) showed that mechanical thrombectomy is not only effective for children with stroke but also safe. Study results have also been released in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

Impressive outcomes

In this study, researchers reviewed eight studies that involved a total of 192 children with stroke who had undergone thrombectomy. They compared the improvements made by the children to those of adult patients following the procedure. This led to the finding that the treatment was both effective and safe for children.

“Seeing that our best standard treatment for adults with severe stroke is also extremely effective for children is encouraging,” said Matt Findlay, who is a medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine. “It’s very meaningful to know that we can safely use this time-tested, minimally invasive procedure to get children back to their families, recovering quickly, and thriving.”

Read Also: Revolutionary Nasal Spray Could be the Key to Repairing Brain Damage from Strokes!

Study authors noted that children even showed better outcomes in many of the measures included compared to adults. For instance, they had better rates of positive neurological outcomes post-surgery and restored blood flow. Children also had greatly lesser major surgery complications and lower mortality.

References

M Findlay et al (2023). O-048 Comparing outcomes after thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion: children vs. adults—a systematic review and meta-analysis. SNIS 20th annual meeting oral abstracts. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnis-2023-SNIS.48

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