Clinical presentation and long-term outcome of cerebral venous thrombosis

Despite recent advances, the clinical features of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) remain incompletely characterized. To our knowledge, no case series have been reported from North American centers with detailed long-term outcome data, and few studies have evaluated recanalization rates.

All cases of CVT at a single tertiary care hospital between 1995 and 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained from direct patient interviews.

Follow-up data were available for 58 of 61 CVT patients (median 50 months). Average age was 40, and 66% were women. Headache and focal neurological deficits were noted in 82% and 72%, respectively. Intracranial hemorrhage was seen in 44%. Hypercoagulable risk factors were identified in 84%. Anticoagulation was initiated acutely in 84%, including in all patients with intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH). The percentage of patients with a modified Rankin Score (mRS) of 0 to 2 at admission, hospital discharge and last follow-up were 41%, 67%, 90%, respectively; the rate of favorable long-term outcome did not differ significantly between patients with and without IPH. In the subset of 21 patients with follow-up imaging available for direct review, 90% had partial or complete recanalization.

The demographics, clinical presentation, imaging findings, and risk factors in this large North American cohort of CVT patients strongly support the observations of previous European case series. In addition, the favorable long-term outcome and recanalization rates observed lend further support to the safety and efficacy of acute heparin therapy for the treatment of symptomatic CVT (irrespective of the presence of ICH).