Warning of stroke risk in many young children with unclear symptoms

On December 5, 108 Military Central Hospital informed that in recent days, the hospital has received many stroke cases in children and adolescents, including a patient as young as 8 years old.

Currently, the Neurology Institute (108 Central Military Hospital) is treating 4 children aged 8-16 years old, this is a warning bell about the rejuvenating trend of this disease.

This is worrying when stroke, which was considered a disease of adults, is increasingly appearing in young people, with unclear symptoms but sudden and especially dangerous developments.

The case of baby D.K. born in 2017 (in Hanoi ) shocked many people. While studying, the baby suddenly collapsed on the table, the left side of his body was weak, this was a symptom of a transient ischemic attack. Fortunately, teachers and friends discovered it in time, informed the family to take the baby to the hospital.

The CT scan results showed that K. had a cerebral infarction due to a dissection of the right middle cerebral artery, a rare condition in children. The patient underwent emergency intervention, balloon angioplasty and stent placement to reopen the artery. Thanks to being brought to the hospital early, K. has recovered almost completely, leaving no neurological sequelae.

Another case is a patient named TQ born in 2011 (in the old Ha Nam ), 10 days before being admitted to the hospital, Q. had a severe headache, fainted at the commune health station, took medicine and returned to normal but then the headache reappeared. At first, the family thought it was just a common cold but to be sure, they took Q. to the hospital.

The CT scan results revealed that Q. had a small brain hemorrhage due to a ruptured arteriovenous malformation in the right temporal region. After consultation, the doctors at the Neurological Institute performed an intervention to plug the malformation and pseudoaneurysm. Currently, Q. has fully recovered.

Q.’s mother shared: “I didn’t think he had a brain hemorrhage because he was completely healthy before. If I had known it was that serious, I would have taken him to the doctor sooner. I hope parents don’t be subjective when they see their children having headaches or showing strange symptoms.”

According to doctors, stroke intervention in children is much more difficult than in adults. Children's vascular systems are small and vulnerable, and inserting instruments into the vessels requires absolute precision.

Dr. Nguyen Van Tuyen - Director of the Institute of Neurology, and Head of the Stroke Department, said that although stroke in children is still considered rare, in recent years the rate of young patients, under 45 years old, suffering from stroke is increasing. In 2025, the Stroke Department will have about 10-15% of patients being treated as young people, the main cause is cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. In the young group, the mechanism of infarction is less related to atherosclerosis as in adults, but often comes from arterial dissection (this condition accounts for about 30-50% of very dangerous progression). Vascular dissection can occur when children play, run, jump, collide or turn their neck strongly causing damage to the endothelium, or due to vasculitis...

A baby Chinese born in 2011 was discovered to have a brain hemorrhage from a transient headache. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Stroke at any age is a race against time. Every minute, every second that passes, billions of nerve cells are irreversibly damaged. International recommendations say that treatment with thrombolytic drugs is effective within the first 3-4.5 hours; mechanical thrombectomy is usually performed within 6 hours. However, doctors emphasize that family members should not wait or rely on the "golden hours" to delay taking their children to the hospital. The later they arrive, the lower the chances of survival and recovery.

What is worrying is that strokes in children are easily missed because the symptoms are not typical and children have difficulty describing their feelings. Signs such as severe headache, weakness in the limbs, blurred vision, difficulty speaking, convulsions, sudden collapse... even if very mild need to be closely monitored. In many cases, parents think their children are tired or dizzy due to studying or a normal cold, leading to missing the golden time for treatment.

According to Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong - Department of Neurovascular Intervention (Institute of Neurology), there is currently no absolute method to prevent stroke in children because the cause is often unclear. Early detection is the key to minimizing damage and protecting children's lives./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/canh-bao-nguy-co-dot-quy-o-nhieu-tre-nho-voi-bieu-hien-khong-ro-rang-post1081275.vnp