Eduardo Mekitarian Filho
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Neurol Neurophysiol
Strokes in children are rare but increasingly important conditions due to the severity of their complications and diverse diagnostic differentials. Diagnosis requires a high level of clinical suspicion since the initial signs and symptoms manifested may lack specificity, with clinical presentations of other neurological diseases or non-central nervous system related conditions. A stroke is characterized by clinical and neurological manifestations of stroke, together with radiological evidence of ischemia or infarct in a given arterial territory (acute ischemic stroke, AIS), or hemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke, HS). Stroke in children are rare conditions, with incidence rates among two and eight per 100,000 children up to 14 years, and most cases show an underlying disease such as heart diseases, prothrombotic conditions, sickle-cell anemia, and vascular malformations. There are no specific guidelines currently in place for the treatment of stroke in children, although central elements include support treatment, monitoring, and anticoagulation as secondary prevention in certain cases. Prognosis depends on the extent of brain damage and the underlying disease but recurrence rates are high in most cases. Early diagnosis of stroke in children is very important and pediatricians should be aware of the lack of specificity of the symptoms to avoid late sequelae and improve life quality.
Dr. Eduardo Mekitarian Filho has completed his studies in Pediatrics and Pediatric Intensive Care in 2008, at University of Sao Paulo, and got his master?s degree in 2011, at Federal University of Sao Paulo, studying perioperative factors associated with morbidity in pediatric neurosurgery. He?s currently working in the pediatric emergency departments of University of Sao Paulo and Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. He has published 9 articles in indexed journals and is currently reviewer for Clinics, J Pediatr (Rio J), Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira and Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva.
