# Causes and clinical presentation of stroke in children in Cameroon

## TL;DR

This study examines the causes and symptoms of childhood strokes in Cameroon, finding that sickle cell disease is the most common cause.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into the aetiology and clinical features of childhood stroke in an urban Cameroonian setting.

## Key findings

- Sickle cell disease was the leading cause of ischaemic stroke in children.
- Ischaemic strokes accounted for 87.2% of all stroke cases.
- Hemiplegia/hemiparesis was the most common clinical manifestation.

## Abstract

The aim was to determine the aetiological factors and clinical and paraclinical aspects of stroke in children in Cameroon.

retrospective study of the records

At two university hospitals in the city of Yaoundé (Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital and the Chantal Biya Foundation Mother and Child Centre)

47 children with stroke for seven and half years

Data were collected from medical records. The variables studied included clinical and paraclinical data.

Key variables were summarised in the form of mean ± standard deviation, frequencies and percentages

The mean age was 6.5±2.8 years. The Male Female sex ratio was 1.8:1. The average consultation time was 31.8 hours. Hemiplegia/hemiparesis (95.7%) was the main clinical manifestation, associated with signs such as convulsions (27.7%), fever (46.8%) and pallor (27.7%). Ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke accounted for 41 cases (87.2%) and 6 cases (12.8%), respectively. The aetiological factors for ischaemic stroke were sickle cell disease (72.3%), sepsis (4.2%), protein S deficiency (2.1%) and dilated cardiomyopathy with mitral insufficiency (2.1%). The aetiology was not found in 3 patients (6.4%) with ischaemic stroke. Apart from sickle cell disease (66.6%), the aetiological factors for haemorrhagic stroke were idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (16.7%) and haemophilia B (16.7%). Ischaemia mainly involved the middle cerebral artery (86.1%). Haemorrhagic attacks were mainly supratentorial.

In urban Cameroon, strokes frequently occur around the age of 6, with a predominance of ischaemic strokes resulting in motor deficits. Sickle cell disease is the most common cause.

None declared