Neonatal posterior cerebral artery stroke: clinical presentation, MRI findings, and outcome

Aim To report the clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, and follow-up data of newborn infants with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke in the territory of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA). Method Data on 18 newborn infants from three neonatal intensive care units (11 males, seven females) with an MRI-confirmed PCA stroke were analysed and reported. Infants were born at a mean gestational age of 38.7weeks (SD 3.4) with a mean birthweight of 3244g (SD 850). Results Fourteen infants presented with clinical seizures. Five of these had associated hypoxicischemic encephalopathy, four had hypoglycaemia, and five had neither hypoxicischemic encephalopathy nor hypoglycaemia. Subclinical seizures were present in one infant with hypoxicischemic encephalopathy and one with meningitis. One preterm infant presented with apnoeas and one had hypoxicischemic encephalopathy without seizures. Neurodevelopmental follow-up of 17 children at a median age of 36months (SD 28, range 12120mo) showed five with a global delay. Two children with additional injury developed postneonatal epilepsy and one child with extensive injury developed hemiplegia. A visual field defect was observed in nine children (six hemianopia, three quadrantanopia). In the 11 children with a second MRI at 3months, the asymmetry of the optic radiation correlated with the development of a visual field deficit. Interpretation Outcome after PCA stroke is fairly good, depending on additional brain injury. Follow-up is required, as subsequent visual field defects are frequently observed. Further research will be needed to clarify the role of hypoglycaemia in perinatal arterial ischemic stroke.