Acute Ischemic Stroke in a 6-Year-Old Boy, Treated with Mechanical Thrombectomy: A Case Report

Pediatric acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a relatively rare disease with an estimated incidence of 2.4 to 13 per 1 children per year. Nonetheless, it can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Clinical outcome may include 1) loss of life in about 10–25% of children with AIS or 2) a recurrence rate as high as 25%, and a complication rate as high as 66%, including a persistent neurological deficit or subsequent seizure disorder, learning or developmental problem (1, 2). The clinical presentation of pediatric AIS varies with the child’s age. The younger the child, the more nonspecific their symptoms may be (3). Thus, it is difficult to differentiate AIS from other causes of acute neurologic symptoms. Therapeutic options for adult AIS may not be directly applicable to pediatric AIS in general. The recommendation is that endovascular therapies should be considered for children only with significant and potentially disabling neurologic deficits (pediatric NIH Stroke Scale scores ≥ 10 and ≤ 30) and radiologically confirmed occlusion of a dominant cerebral artery (4). In this report, we present our experience with a case of pediatric AIS, which was successfully treated with mechanical thrombectomy, by utilizing the Solitaire FR revascularization device and we review the literatures.