Stroke in childhood - Clinical guideline for diagnosis, management and rehabilitation

These begin from the point of referral or the activation and response of emergency medical services and go through to long-term community care, covering the management pathway from the acute setting to the more elective management of neurovascular disorders in children and young people. [...] This is appropriate to ensure early triage and that the child is in a place of safety, but must be combined with a general raising of the level of awareness in the community and amongst healthcare professionals to facilitate early recognition and appropriate onward care of children and young people with suspected stroke. [...] In order to receive the best available intervention, there is a need for coordination and planning to start from the point of stroke diagnosis, and for the broader multidisciplinary team to be involved to plan and prepare for discharge and educational reintegration. [...] In order to make the structure of the guideline relevant to the patient journey, the initial sections on recognition and diagnosis consider AIS and HS together; specifics of targeted investigations, management and prevention of recurrence consider AIS and HS separately; and rehabilitation is considered without distinction (see Diagram 1.1). [...] The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), which is registered as a charity in England and Wales (1057744) and in Scotland (SCO38299), in collaboration with the Stroke Association and a guideline development group (GDG) comprised of clinicians from a range of relevant specialities and lay members, have carried out this update in accordance with the RCPCH standards for the developme.