Paediatric neurologists from the John Hunter Children's Hospital have played a big part in putting together Australia's first ever clinical guidelines for children who suffer a stroke.
The guidelines aim to improve the diagnosis and acute management of children and babies who suffer a stroke - around 300 are diagnosed across Australia each year.
One of the paediatric neurologists taking part is Dr Christina Miteff who believes the guidelines will improve the overall treatment and importantly the recognition of strokes in children.
"Stroke affects up to eight per 100,000 children each year, which is a higher incidence for example than childhood brain tumours," said Dr Miteff.
The massive difference between when an adult has a stroke to when a child has a stroke has increased the need for the children/baby specific guidelines. In addition, more than 50 per cent of the young children who do suffer a stroke are healthy at the time.
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"Some recommendations firstly in terms of when to think of a stroke and what investigations should occur and these investigations should occur very quickly because timely recognition is very important particularly now that potential treatments are available early on."
Recognition can mean the difference between life and death, with many children often not knowing until the day after that they have suffered a stroke. As a consequence of just a days delay in treatment, the window for life-changing interventions may be missed and an intervention minimises brain injury and improves patient recovery.
"It's a document that any emergency department or paediatrician, and also in smaller centres can access and it gives a very clear idea on what to do and hopefully we can collect data accurately because we now recognise strokes more consistently which will also allow for further research in that area in the future," said Dr Miteff.
