PRiSMA Pediatric Registry for Stroke as a Multidisciplinary Approach to healthcare research

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Lucia Gerstl
• Subject Area: Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 471863651

Childhood stroke is a rare, but potentially life-threatening event, which can occur at any age. It requires immediate diagnosis and adequate treatment and - considering the frequent neurological and neuro-cognitive sequelae (mainly hemiparesis, epilepsy) - long-term care in a multidisciplinary setting. But the management of childhood stroke – acute and chronic - is suboptimal. In adult stroke, evidence-based diagnostic algorithms and therapy recommendations are available, new care models (neurovascular networks) and stroke units are successfully established nationwide. However, these broad dynamically developing experiences from adult neurology cannot simply be transferred to the pediatric collective due to the special features of the developing child`s brain and the fundamentally different etiology of childhood stroke. The management of childhood stroke - a rare disease - is experience-based and often relies on local expert opinions and retrospectively collected data. Prospective clinical studies, especially in the acute phase, are most often not feasible in pediatric stroke. A scientific work-up with systematic data collection in the acute and long-term course as a basis for optimized diagnostics, personalized acute therapy and neurorehabilitation, and prevention of recurrent strokes is missing. This situation needs to be changed: As a pediatric stroke registry, PRiSMA offers the necessary interdisciplinary approach to healthcare research in national and international networks. In PRiSMA all children and adolescents (>28 days of life, ≤ 18years) after ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke can be included. The nationwide, multicenter, systematic data collection on clinical presentation, risk factors/etiology, diagnostics, acute therapy, secondary prophylaxis, outcome, etc. is performed in the acute phase as well as in the long-term course (3 and 12 months after stroke as well as at the age of 5, 10 and 17 years). In an international cooperation, PRiSMA will also include patients in Austria and the Netherlands and thus contribute to a better understanding of this complex disease.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Rainer Seidl
• Co-Investigator: Privatdozent Dr. Michael Lauseker