FRIDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) -- In children, acute stroke is costly to treat and may lead to an even greater lifetime cost of care than acute adult stroke, and in young adults with a first-ever ischemic stroke, mostly modifiable factors are independently associated with long-term mortality, according to two studies published online July 9 in Stroke.

In one study, Elizabeth Perkins, of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues reviewed the records of 2,224 pediatric cases (ages 3 months to 20 years) of hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke. Overall, they found the mean cost of acute hospital care was $20,927 per patient, with mean costs of $15,003 for ischemic stroke, $24,117 for intracerebral hemorrhage, and $31,653 for subarachnoid hemorrhage.

In a second study, Jukka Putaala, M.D., of Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland, and colleagues analyzed data on 731 patients ages 15 to 49 who were hospitalized with a first-ever ischemic stroke. They found that cumulative mortality ranged from 2.7 percent at one month to 10.7 percent at five years. Their adjusted analysis showed that independent predictors of five-year mortality included malignancy, heart failure, heavy drinking, preceding infection, type 1 diabetes, increasing age and large artery atherosclerosis.

"Despite the overall low risk of death in the young after the first-ever ischemic stroke, several easily recognizable factors associate independently with the long-term mortality," Putaala and colleagues conclude. "Regarding young adults with a long expected lifespan ahead, detecting these factors are important, because in most patients, they can be modified by lifestyle changes, strictly controlled medication, or invasive interventions, when indicated."

Abstract - Perkins
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Abstract - Putaala
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