Pre-hospital diagnosis of stroke in children. An analysis of the work of the First aid station in Moscow and the primary pediatric stroke center

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of pre-hospital diagnosis of stroke in children. Pediatric Stroke Center of Morozov Children's City Clinical Hospital (Center) for the period from October 2018 to December 2019, 502 cases of hospitalization of children by the First aid Station to the Center with directing diagnoses of ischemic stroke (IS), haemorrhagic stroke (HS), transient ischemic attack (TIA), vertebrobasilar syndrome (VBS) were analysed. TIA was the most prevalent diagnosis made by the First aid station, with the lowest rate of confirmation after further examination in the hospital (7.8%). The higher rates of confirmation were observed for VBS (31.5%), IS (11.2%) and HI (9.1%). The so-called «masks of stroke» were diagnosed in 84.3% cases of hospitalizations that was in line with earlier studies, which reported 50 to 93%. Based on the data on the frequency of symptoms, their combinations and specificity, a screening scale for pre-hospital diagnosis of stroke in children was suggested.