Intracranial venous thrombosis in relation to pregnancy and delivery

A Angelov1

  • 1Department of Pathology, Higher Medical Institute, Vama, Bulgaria.

160 women who had died during pregnancy or after delivery were studied. Intracranial venous thrombosis (ICVT) was found in 10 (6.25%) cases. Most often extensive dural sinus phlebothrombosis and rarely isolated meningeal or cerebral phlebothrombosis were observed. Multiple thrombi in cerebral microcirculation presented the most characteristic morphological feature in all cases. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with microthrombi in two or more parenchymal organs was found in 8 cases. Delayed clinical onset and prolonged progressive course was most frequently observed. Persistent headache, haemiparesis or haemiplegia, convulsions, epileptic seizures, disturbances in consciousness and coma occurred most often. These clinical manifestations were due to multiple haemorrhagic or ischaemic cerebral infarctions and in a single case to haemorrhage. The discussion was centered on the assumption that ICVT in pregnant and parturient women might be a distinct clinicoanatomical form of DIC.

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