Clinical course and diagnosis of cerebral vein and sinus thrombosis associated with COVID-19 in young and middle-aged patients

Abstract

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a form of cerebrovascular disorders that is difficult to recognize, it is potentially a life threatening condition and requires timely anticoagulant therapy. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a steady increase in CVT (4.2% vs. 0.5–1%). At the same time, mortality in patients with CVT on the background of COVID-19 significantly exceeds the mortality in patients with CVT without COVID-19 (45.5% vs. 15%). Objective: to study the clinical course of CVT, to determine the diagnostic value of radiological methods and the significance of genetic risk factors for thrombosis in the development of CVT in young and middle-aged patients against the background of COVID-19. Material and methods. Seven patients were examined: six women (five of them of reproductive age) and one man, aged 26 to 57 years (mean age 37 years). The main clinical and neurological manifestations of CVT, the results of laboratory examination, neuroimaging, and the data of molecular genetic analysis of risk factors for thrombosis were analyzed. Results. The course of COVID-19 was severe in one case, and moderate in the rest of cases. The interval between the onset of COVID-19 symptoms and the development of CVT ranged from 7 to 25 days. In three cases CVT had an acute course and was accompanied by the development of a stroke (in two cases, hemorrhagic stroke was noted, in one case, multifocal ischemic stroke), in other cases, a subacute course of CVT was noted. Genetic risk factors for thrombosis were identified in all patients.Conclusion. The diagnosis of CVT in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic is particularly difficult, since the most common symptom of CVT – headache (90%) – can be regarded as a manifestation of COVID-19. At the same time, timely diagnosis of CVT and immediate initiation of anticoagulant therapy are associated with a relatively favorable prognosis.