Diagnosis of perinatal stroke I: Definitions, differential diagnosis and registration

Introduction: Perinatal stroke can be divided into three subtypes: ischaemic stroke, either arterial or sinovenous and haemorrhagic stroke. For the sake of universal registration and to perform intervention studies, we propose a detailed diagnostic registration system for perinatal stroke taking 10 variables into account. These variables are discussed here and in the accompanying article. Material and results: Differentiation is needed from focal brain changes as a result of disorders other than stroke, whereby accurate timing is possible only when early neonatal imaging is available. Detailed templates are presented for arterial and venous vascular classification. AIS is further subdivided into single territory and complex infarction and some stratification is proposed in the complicated stroke group. This registration system has been applied to a retrospective cohort of 134 newborns with stroke (single-centre observation from 1999 to 2007) and the results are compared with published data. By applying this registration system, intervention studies for one homogeneous stroke type (e.g. complete middle cerebral artery stroke) may be facilitated. Conclusion: Ten variables may be sufficient to register a perinatal stroke. These include gestational age, birthweight, gender, delivery mode, time of detection, presentation, type of stroke, vessel affected or type of cavity, imaging method at detection and clinical context.

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