Fetal stroke

Özduman, Koray; Pober, Barbara R; Barnes, Patrick; Copel, Joshua A; Ogle, Eileen A; Duncan, Charles C; Ment, Laura R

doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2003.08.004

« Previous Next »Pediatric Neurology
Volume 30, Issue 3 , Pages 151-162, March 2004

Fetal stroke

Koray Özduman, MD
- Department of Neurosurgery, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery at Marmara University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey
Barbara R Pober, MD
- Department of Pediatrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Genetics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Patrick Barnes, MD
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
Joshua A Copel, MD
- Department of Pediatrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Eileen A Ogle, PA
- Department of Neurosurgery, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Charles C Duncan, MD
- Department of Neurosurgery, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Laura R Ment, MD
- Department of Pediatrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Communications should be addressed to:Dr. Ment; Department of Pediatrics; Yale University School of Medicine; 333 Cedar Street; New Haven, CT 06510, USA.

Received 22 May 2003; accepted 26 August 2003.

Abstract

Fetal stroke, or that which occurs between 14 weeks of gestation and the onset of labor resulting in delivery, has been associated with postnatal epilepsy, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy. The entity is caused by antenatal ischemic, thrombotic, or hemorrhagic injury. We present seven new cases of fetal stroke diagnosed in utero and review the 47 cases reported in the literature. Although risk factors could not be assigned to 50% of the fetuses with stroke, the most common maternal conditions associated with fetal stroke were alloimmune thrombocytopenia and trauma. Magnetic resonance imaging was optimal for identifying fetal stroke, and prenatal imaging revealed hemorrhagic lesions in over 90% of studies; porencephalies were identified in just 13%. Seventy-eight percent of cases with reported outcome resulted in either death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcome at ages 3 months to 6 years. Fetal stroke appears to have different risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcomes than other perinatal or childhood stroke syndromes. A better understanding of those risk factors predisposing a fetus to cerebral infarction may provide a basis for future therapeutic intervention trials.Özduman K, Pober BR, Barnes P, Copel JA, Ogle EA, Duncan CC, Ment LR. Fetal stroke.