Abstract TP267: Cerebral Venous Thrombosis at High Altitude: A Comparison of Patients From Plateau and Plain in China

Abstract

Introduction: Exposure to high altitude environment is a risk factor of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) probably due to the hypercoagulability. The study aims to explore the unique clinical, risk factors, and prognostic characteristics of CVT patients in high-altitude areas of China by comparing them with CVT patients in plain areas. Methods: We retrospectively included consecutive patients with CVT admitted to Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Hospital and Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) between January 2015 and June 2022. The risk factors, clinical and radiological presentations, treatment, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 43 patients with CVT from Tibet and 111 patients from PUMCH were included. The median age was 31 and 35 years old, and women accounted for 65.1% and 54.1% respectively. Headache (90.7% vs. 71.2%, P=0.01) and altered consciousness (32.6% vs. 15.3%, P=0.017) were more common in patients from Tibet. Hemorrhage (44.2% vs. 19.8%, P=0.002) and venous infarction (51.2% vs. 25.2%, P=0.002) were more prevalent in Tibetan patients. The proportion of pregnant or postpartum patients in plateau areas was significantly higher than that in plains (27.9% vs. 5.4%, P=0.000). The levels of C-reactive protein (17.9 vs. 3.28 mg/L, P=0.011) and D-Dimer (2.15 vs. 1.1mg/L FEU, P=0.014) were greatly higher in patients from Tibet. The percentage of patients receiving anticoagulant therapy was lower in Tibet than that in PUMCH (67.4% vs. 92.8%, P=0.000). All three Tibet patients who died in hospital had recent infections, and two in-hospital deaths in PUMCH were attributed to severe pneumonia and cerebral hernia. Favorable outcome (modified Ranking Score, mRS 0-2) at follow-up was observed in 81.6% of patients in Tibet and 89.9% of those in PUMCH, with the median follow-up time of 396 days and 913 days respectively. Conclusions: The clinical and imaging manifestations are more severe in patients from Tibet. Pregnancy or puerperium is more common in patients from Tibet. The levels of inflammation and coagulation indexes in Tibetan patients are significantly higher than those in plain. Although the proportion of anticoagulant therapy in patients with high-altitude CVT is relatively low, the prognosis is good.