Moin A, Lowe RB, Desai BJ. Acute Ischemic Stroke in a Teenage Patient: Are We "MIS-C"ing Something?
Cureus 2023;
15:e47321. [PMID:
38021924 PMCID:
PMC10657018 DOI:
10.7759/cureus.47321]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The reported annual incidence of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) among pediatric and young adults is 1-13/100,000. In adults, ischemic stroke is attributed to several risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Alternatively, pediatric ischemic stroke is associated with a broad spectrum of etiologies including prematurity, congenital heart disease, arteriopathies like moyamoya, chronic inflammatory disease, sickle cell, hypercoagulability, and malignancy. In rare cases, AIS has been associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a Kawasaki-like inflammatory disease affecting patients younger than 21 years of age. This recently recognized and rare condition has been linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and presentations can vary widely in terms of severity and systemic involvement. While the exact reason behind this association is unknown, there is a growing body of evidence in adult literature that links SARS-CoV-2 infection to hypercoagulability and immune-mediated thrombosis. In pediatric patients, this association is not very clear. We report a case of a 17-year-old, previously healthy male who presented with acute-onset expressive aphasia, right-sided hemiparesis, and facial droop after two weeks from experiencing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-like symptoms. A non-contrast head CT revealed an acute left M2 territory infarct while serum workup was consistent with MIS-C. Providers must maintain a high degree of suspicion and consider AIS in pediatric patients presenting with even mild neurological changes and a recent history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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