Cerebral venous thrombosis in adults: a case series of 35 patients from a tertiary hospital

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe the baseline characteristics, clinical presentation, imaging tests and outcomes, and identify potential prognostic factors in a cohort of patients diagnosed with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). Patients and methodsThis retrospective, single-center, observational study included adult patients diagnosed with CVT from January 2016 to December 2020. The variables were reviewed using electronic medical records. ResultsA total of 35 patients were included, with a median age at diagnosis of 50.3 (+/- 17.8) years, and the majority being women (74.4%). Nearly 95% of the patients presented at least one risk factor for the development of CVT. Heparins were used for the acute phase in 97.1% of cases, with 75% of those being low molecular weight heparins.During the first two weeks, a compound event (death, intensive care unit admission, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale at discharge >3, CVT recurrence, major bleeding, or the presence of complications) occurred in 28.6% of patients (10 patients).Over the mean follow-up period of 3.3 years, 14.3% of the patients died (with only one death attributed to CVT), one patient experienced major bleeding, and no patients had a recurrence of CVT. ConclusionsIn our cohort, CVT predominantly affected young women with at least one risk factor for its development. The presence of edema on CT and corticosteroid treatment were associated with a poor short-term prognosis. However, we observed a favorable long-term prognosis in terms of mortality, recurrence, and bleeding.