Footnotes

• Contributors CFS and AA were systematic reviewers at the RCPCH (to April 2017 and September 2016, respectively) and were involved in every stage of the development of the guideline. RNH oversaw the development of every stage of the guideline. CFS drafted this manuscript and RNH and AA edited it. All authors approve this manuscript. CFS, RNH and AA have several years’ experience of carrying out systematic reviews for the RCPCH, the Cochrane Collaboration and numerous other UK universities. The authors declare no conflict of interest. All members of the GDG were required to disclose any conflicts of interest and any conflicts declared will be available in Appendix 2a of the guideline which will be launched in May 2017. CFS is the named guarantor of this work.

• Funding This work was funded by The Stroke Association. The funder had no influence over the methods used or conclusions drawn in the guideline. The researchers carried out the research independently of the funders. This paper discusses work which was funded by the Stroke Association and developed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), which was launched in May 2017. The funders played no role in the conception, writing or content of this paper but have given their approval for it to be submitted for publishing.

• Competing interests None declared.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.