Childhood infections and trauma as risk factors for stroke.

Stroke is as common as brain tumor in children. The etiology of childhood arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) appears to be multifactorial, resulting from the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental triggers. The risk factors for AIS in children are markedly different from the atherosclerotic risk factors in adults. Trauma and infections have been identified as associations in previous studies and are exposures of particular interest because of their increased prevalence in the children. The aim of this review article is to provide an overview of the research studies that have addressed the role of infections and trauma in pediatric AIS.