IPSSInternational Pediatric Stroke Study

OBJECTIVES: This is the first multi-center, multi-national study of children with stroke. It seeks to build a network of investigators and high-quality disease dataset to enable population-based studies, natural history studies, and clinical trials to improve the care of children with stroke. STUDY POPULATION: Infants and children with ischemic stroke (arterial ischemic stroke and cerebral sinovenous thrombosis), hemorrhagic stroke or those at high risk (e.g. arteriopathies like moyamoya). DESIGN: This study includes a data collection component and collaborative process. Our network of over 150 investigators prospectively collect data on neonates or children with a diagnosis of stroke made after January 2003. Data on stroke diagnosis, etiology, treatment and outcomes are collected and entered into a secure web system, REDCap. Neuro-imaging data from the index event and a series of follow-up time points are captured and stored in the SILC-IPSS data repository. OUTCOME MEASURES: This study will quantify outcome event rates (initial stroke characteristics, recurrent stroke, mortality, neurologic deficits), which can be used in designing future intervention studies and determining sample sizes. Analysis will be primarily descriptive. Participating investigators submit investigator-initiated research proposals or grants with a specific focus, leveraging the clinical and imaging dataset.