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Acute ‘limited’ magnetic resonance imaging in childhood stroke—an illustrative case

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Abstract

Paediatric stroke is a major cause of morbidity and death in children. There is often a delay in making the diagnosis because common differential diagnoses such as migraine and seizures need to be considered and quick access to imaging is difficult. Early recognition is increasingly important for early treatment and to improve outcomes. We present the case of a 4-year-old boy who presented to the Emergency Department with acute hemiparesis. To target the provisional diagnosis of an acute ischaemic stroke, we requested magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) limited to two sequences only: diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). We were able to confirm the diagnosis of acute ischaemic stroke within 90 min of presentation to hospital.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the parents of our patient who consented to this publication. The authors have no financial ties to disclose.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to C. I. Miteff.

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Miteff, C.I., Subramanian, G., Brown, J.E. et al. Acute ‘limited’ magnetic resonance imaging in childhood stroke—an illustrative case. Emerg Radiol 22, 453–455 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-015-1310-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-015-1310-0

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