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Anticoagulant therapy (ACT) is usually avoided in older patients with ischemic stroke (IS) because ACT, as compared with aspirin, has been shown to increase the risk for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). However, ACT might be safer in children because they lack some features that predispose adults to bleeding, such as hypertension and atherosclerosis.
To estimate the frequency of ACT-associated ICH in children, investigators in Canada conducted a prospective, observational study involving 123 children with IS who received ACT; 83% received ACT within 72 hours of IS diagnosis.
Results were as follows:
ICH occurred in 14 (11%) of children during ACT within 26 days of IS diagnosis.
ICH symptoms occurred in five patients (4%) 2 to 13 days after initia…