Endovascular Therapy Versus Anticoagulation for Treatment of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis: A Meta-Analysis

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare cause of stroke that mainly affects the young. Anticoagulation (AC) with heparin is the mainstay of treatment for CVST. Although highly anticipated, endovascular therapy (ET) including local thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy has been controversial.

To compare the effectiveness and safety of ET with AC for patients with confirmed CVST, we systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library from the earliest date to February 2020. Data on the total number of patients in each treatment group and the exact number of patients for each outcome were separately extracted from 10 studies with 891 patients.Our Results show that ET has a higher mortality rate compared with AC [odds ratio (OR)=1.95; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19-3.18; P=0.008<0.01] and has lower probability of good outcome (OR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.23-1.02; P=0.056). ET leads to a higher risk of complications than AC (OR=5.29; 95% CI, 1.17-23.95; P=0.030<0.05). No difference was found in recurrence rate between 2 treatments (OR=0.85; 95% CI, 0.31-2.35; P=0.761).

ET is related to a higher mortality, fewer good outcome and possibly more complications compared with AC. The risks of ET should be weighed in every individualized therapeutic decision.