Neonatal stroke

Neonatal stroke encompasses a range of focal and multifocal ischaemic and haemorrhagic tissue injuries. This review will concentrate on focal brain injury that occurs as a consequence of arterial infarction, most frequently the left middle cerebral artery, or more rarely as a consequence of cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT). Both conditions are multifactorial in origin. The incidence of both acquired and genetic thrombophilic disorders in both mothers and infants is high although rarely causal in isolation. Neurodevelopmental morbidity occurs in over 50% of children. Specific therapy in the form of anticoagulation is currently only recommended in CSVT and needs to be carefully monitored in the presence of haemorrhage.