Clinical and diagnostic features of course of cerebral venous thrombosis during COVID‑19 pandemic

Abstract

Relevance. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the frequency of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) by 30–60 times. At the same time, the development of CVT does not depend on the severity of COVID‑19. Diagnosis of CVT during the COVID‑19 pandemic is particularly difficult, since the most common symptom of CVT, headache, can be regarded as a manifestation of COVID‑19. A wide range of clinical symptoms and low alertness of doctors leads to late diagnosis and verification of CVT.Purpose of the study. To analyze the features of clinical manifestations and neuroimaging signs of CVT against the background of COVID‑19. Patients and methods. We examined 70 young and middle-aged patients with COVID‑19 of varying severity, who underwent inpatient treatment in angio-neurological and re-profiled infectious diseases departments of North-Western State Medical University n. a. I. I. Mechnikov (Saint Petersburg, Russia) at the age of 18 to 59 years (38.5 ± 11.58), of which 49 (70 %) women and 21 (30 %) men.Results. The most common neurological symptom in patients with CVT due to COVID‑19 was diffuse headache. The severity of COVID‑19 and the degree of lung damage did not correlate with the severity of CVT. In 32 (46 %) cases, CVT was accompanied by the development of venous stroke: ischemic – in 13 (19 %) patients, hemorrhagic – in 7 (10 %), ischemic stroke with hemorrhagic impregnation – in 12 (17 %) patients. According to the localization of the thrombus, thrombosis of the left transverse sinus was most often noted – in 39 (57 %) cases.Conclusions. The leading symptom in all patients with CVT was headache, which was not relieved by taking conventional analgesics, which caused clinical alertness of doctors. Early diagnosis of CVT ensured the immediate start of anticoagulant therapy and contributed to positive dynamics in all patients in the form of regression of neurological deficit and improvement in general condition.