Predicting poor response to anti-coagulation therapy in cerebral venous thrombosis using a simple...

Multiple studies have attempted to determine predictors of poor clinical outcomes in cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). Fewer studies target to identify predictors of poor response to anticoagulation therapy in CVT.

We aimed to determine the predictors of poor clinical response to therapeutic anticoagulation in patients with acute CVT.

We performed a retrospective analysis of patients therapeutically anticoagulated for acute CVT. We defined poor clinical outcomes as death, need for mechanical thrombectomy during the hospitalization, or a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) > 3 at clinical follow-up. Bivariate and multivariate analyses identified factors associated with poor outcomes in anticoagulated patients for acute CVT, and we used the identified factors to create the PRACT-CVT (Poor Response to Anticoagulation Therapy in CVT) score.

We included 109 patients anticoagulated with acute CVT. The mean patient age was 37 years old (SD 19); nine patients were > 65 years, ten patients were < 10 years, and 64 (59%) were female. Twenty-one (19%) patients had poor clinical outcomes. Age > 65 or < 10 years (OR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.06-9.44), a GCS ≤ 12 upon presentation (OR: 19.2, 95% CI: 4.05-91.4), focal motor deficits at admission (OR: 5.03, 95% CI: 1.64-15.44), clinical deterioration following admission (OR: 28.18, CI: 4.81-164.86), seizures following admission (OR: 5.59, 95% CI: 1.27-24.51), evidence of brain bleeding/ischemia on admission (OR: 4.67, 95% CI: 1.42-15.34), involvement of the superior sagittal sinus (OR: 3.88, CI: 1.33-11.32), or involvement of both transverse sinuses (OR: 3.87, 95% CI: 1.01-14.90) predicted poor clinical outcome despite therapeutic anticoagulation. A PRACT-CVT score (0-22 points) of ≥ 7 points provided a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 95% for predicting poor clinical outcomes with anticoagulation alone.

Patients with acute CVT aged > 65 or < 10 years old, presenting with a GCS ≤ 12, with focal motor deficits, showing clinical deterioration after admission, having clinical seizures during hospitalization, with brain bleeding/ischemia on initial neuroimaging, involvement of the superior sagittal sinus, or involvement of both transverse sinuses had poor response to anticoagulation. Clinicians may employ the PRACT-CVT score to predict poor response to anticoagulation for acute CVT.