Pediatric arterial ischemic stroke: Overview of the literature and of the most cited relevant articles

Abstract Background The entity of pediatric stroke has been recognized for centuries and is defined as a focal neurological deficit, lasting more than 24 hours, being attributed only to causes of vascular origin,and it refers to patients from 0 to 18 years old.It is a condition implicated with personal, familial, economic, andsocial consequences and related with a diverse spectrum of risk factors. Methods A bibliometric analysis centered on pediatric stroke was performed along with a broad literature review. Risk factors and modern treatment options, including endovascular techniques and decompressive craniectomy, as a treatment option for life threatening circumstances, are reviewed. Results The search resulted in 410 articles, published from 1975 until now (May 2020). All of them combined have been cited 4.038 times, in 2.351 different articles, with an average citation per item of 80.76. The most cited article was published by Ganesan, V in 2003. It has received 303 citations, with an average 16.83 citations per year, while the last was published by Tsivgoulis, G in 2008, with 26 total citations, and an average of 2 citations per year. Conclusion Asignificant proportion of the published articles relevant to ischemic stroke appeared in the literature during the last decade, with a great amount of them focused on the relevant risk factors. Relatively less studies were concentrated on therapeutic options related to massive cerebral infarction, indicating that there is a relative lack of evidence related to acute therapeutic intervention.