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Vertebral Artery Dissection Causing Stroke After Trampoline Use
Courtney S Casserly1, Rodrick K Lim, Asuri Narayan Prasad
1From the *University of Western Ontario; and †Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to report a case of a 4-year-old boy who had been playing on the trampoline and presented to the emergency department (ED) with vomiting and ataxia, and had a vertebral artery dissection with subsequent posterior circulation infarcts.
Methods:
This study is a chart review.
Results:
The patient presented to the emergency department with a 4-day history of vomiting and gait unsteadiness. A computed tomography scan of his head revealed multiple left cerebellar infarcts. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic resonance angiogram of his head and neck demonstrated multiple infarcts involving the left cerebellum, bilateral thalami, and left occipital lobe. A computed tomography angiogram confirmed the presence of a left vertebral artery dissection.
Conclusions:
Vertebral artery dissection is a relatively common cause of stroke in the pediatric age group. Trampoline use has been associated with significant risk of injury to the head and neck. Patients who are small and/or young are most at risk. In this case, minor trauma secondary to trampoline use could be a possible mechanism for vertebral artery dissection and subsequent strokes. The association in this case warrants careful consideration because trampoline use could pose a significant risk to pediatric users.
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