Anticonvulsant Medication Practice Varies After Pediatric Arterial Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: Acute symptomatic seizures are common after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). We sought to analyze practice variation in anticonvulsant medication treatment (ACM) after AIS. We hypothesized that ACM practice varies but is related to age, acute seizure frequency and duration, cortical involvement, and hemorrhagic conversion. Methods: Seizures in Pediatric Stroke (SIPS), an international, prospective study, enrolled neonatal (u003c28 days) and childhood (u003c19 years) acute AIS patients 3/2011-8/2012. Seizures and ACM were recorded. Among patients with acute seizures (u003c7 days post-stroke), we used univariate Spearman’s correlations to determine association between ACM and clinical predictors at both discharge and 12-month time points. Variables with p u003c0.05 at univariate analysis were entered into a logistic regression model. Results: Among 116 patients, 27 neonates and 31 children (ages 0.2-17 years) had an acute seizure. In neonates, 24 (89%) had ACM continued after discharge, but only 4 (1...