For the patient with acute occlusive stroke, rapid evaluation and careful monitoring are essential. Patients should be admitted to an intensive care unit. Raised intracranial pressure should be treated promptly with pharmacological agents. Assisted ventilation may be necessary. Hyperventilation therapy, however, should be avoided.
Seizures are common during acute infarction and hemorrhage and require anticonvulsant therapy.
Exchange transfusion to decrease the level of Hb S to less than 30 percent may help to prevent progression of the acute stroke. Algorithm for evaluating clinical stroke. Algorithm for evaluating transcient ischemic attacks and repeat afebrile seizures. In addition to transfusions, it is important to provide rehabilitation services to the patient. Although many children may exhibit remarkable recovery from a stroke, a detailed assessment of intellectual function should be done to determine if the child would benefit from special assistance with academic work because acquired learning difficulties may be the consequence of the stroke.