Head circumference trajectory in children with perinatal stroke

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Perinatal stroke is a primary cause of hemiparetic cerebral palsy and long-term disability.
• Predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes in affected children remains challenging.
• Head circumference deceleration is a known indicator of adverse outcomes in neonatal brain injury.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if perinatal stroke leads to reduced head growth rates in children.
• To determine the association between head growth deceleration and neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Alberta Perinatal Stroke Project cohort.
• Included patients with confirmed neonatal arterial ischemic stroke or presumed perinatal ischemic stroke.
• Analyzed occipital-frontal circumference data against control charts and correlated with Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measures (PSOM) scores.

Main Results:

• Head circumference measurements from 102 patients over a median of 3.2 years were analyzed.
• Occipital-frontal circumference deviated below normal growth trajectories after 3 months (females) and 1 year (males) (P < .05).
• Smaller head circumference was significantly associated with poor outcomes (PSOM ≥ 1) (P < .05).

Conclusions:

• Children with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke exhibit head growth deceleration.
• This deceleration is linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
• Head circumference can serve as a potential clinical marker for neurological risk assessment.