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BackgroundCardiac disease is a leading cause of stroke in children, yet limited data support the current stroke prevention and treatment recommendations. A multidisciplinary panel of clinicians was convened in February 2014 by the International Pediatric Stroke Study group to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize clinical research efforts for children with cardiac disease and stroke.ResultsSignificant knowledge gaps exist, including a lack of data on stroke incidence, predictors, primary and secondary stroke prevention, hyperacute treatment, and outcome in children with cardiac disease. Commonly used diagnostic techniques including brain computed tomography and ultrasound have low rates of stroke detection, and diagnosis is frequently delayed. The challenges of research studies in this population include epidemiologic barriers to research such as small patient numbers, heterogeneity of cardiac disease, and coexistence of multiple risk factors. Based on stroke burden and study feasibility, studies involving mechanical circulatory support, single ventricle patients, early stroke detection strategies, and understanding secondary stroke risk factors and prevention are the highest research priorities over the next 5-10 years. The development of large-scale multicenter and multispecialty collaborative research is a critical next step. The designation of centers of expertise will assist in clinical care and research.ConclusionsThere is an urgent need for additional research to improve the quality of evidence in guideline recommendations for cardiogenic stroke in children. Although significant barriers to clinical research exist, multicenter and multispecialty collaboration is an important step toward advancing clinical care and research for children with cardiac disease and stroke.

Stroke is among the top 10 causes of death in children and survivors carry resulting disabilities for decades, at substantial cost to themselves and their families. Children are not currently able to access reperfusion therapies, due to limited evidence supporting safety and efficacy and long diagnostic delays. The Australian Clinical Consensus Guideline for the Diagnosis and Acute Management of Childhood Stroke was developed to minimize unwarranted variations in care and document best evidence on the risk factors, etiologies, and conditions mimicking stroke that differ from adults. Clinical questions were formulated to inform systematic database searches from 2007 to 2017, limited to English and pediatric studies. SIGN methodology and the National Health and Medical Research Council system were used to screen and classify the evidence. The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system (GRADE) was used to grade evidence as strong or weak. The Guideline provides more than 60 evidence-based recommendations to assist prehospital and acute care clinicians in the rapid identification of childhood stroke, choice of initial investigation, to confirm diagnosis, determine etiology, selection of the most appropriate interventions to salvage brain at risk, and prevent recurrence. Recommendations include advice regarding the management of intracranial pressure and congenital heart disease. Implementation of the Guideline will require reorganization of prehospital and emergency care systems, including the development of regional stroke networks, pediatric Code Stroke, rapid magnetic resonance imaging and accreditation of primary pediatric stroke centers with the capacity to offer reperfusion therapies. The Guideline will allow auditing to benchmark timelines of care, access to acute interventions, and outcomes. It will also facilitate the development of an Australian childhood stroke registry, with data linkage to international registries, to allow for accurate data collection on stroke incidence, treatment, and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]