CEREBRAL ARTERIOVENOUS-MALFORMATIONS IN CHILDREN - REPORT ON 62 CASES

A series of 62 children with cerebral arteriovenous malformations admi tted to our department in the course of 17 years (1975-1992) was revie wed in a retrospective study. In 54 cases hemorrhagic stroke was the f irst presenting symptom, followed by epilepsy in five cases. On admiss ion 26 children presented with a neurological deficit, and 21 were adm itted with a grade 3 status according to Botterell. Fifty-one malforma tions were supratentorial (41 hemispheric, 10 deep-seated) while 11 we re infratentorial. According to Mori's criteria, 28 lesions were small , 19 medium, and 15 large. Fifty-two children were operated on, with t otal excision of the malformation achieved in 47 cases. In two childre n the malformation recurred. The evolution of neurological disorders h as been studied with a mean follow-up of 8.5 years. Fifty patients had a satisfactory outcome on the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Four children di ed. These results were compared with those reported elsewhere in the p ediatric literature.