A Study of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis with Special Reference to Newer Risk Predictors

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon and frequently unrecognized type of stroke that affects approximately five people per million annually, accounts for 0.5 to 1% of all strokes, and is more commonly seen in young individuals. The exact incidence of CVT in India remains unknown. The risk factors for venous thrombosis in general are linked classically to the Virchow's triad of stasis of the blood, changes in the vessel wall, and changes in the composition of the blood. There have been numerous studies evaluating long-term as well as short-term outcomes in the presence of these inflammatory mediators. They have been reported to be beneficial in predicting outcome and, hence, potentially in guiding management.

Evaluation of prevailing risk factors associated with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Description of the distribution of newer inflammatory markers among the study population and their association with functional and neurologic outcome at 30 days following the occurrence of cerebral VST.

Approval from the Institutional Review Board was obtained. Written informed consent was given by willing patients, explained in vernacular. Relevant details were obtained via a clinical history and laboratory values and imaging data obtained from the hospital's electronic health information system, which were then recorded in the proforma. No personal identifying data was collected. The sample size for this study was lower than originally planned, owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The patients were called for follow-up after 1 month of the detection of VST, and their neurologic status was recorded on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and functional status on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Descriptive analysis of baseline characteristics was done. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests of significant difference between means for nonparametric data were used. Linear regression was carried out on the variables found to differ significantly among subpopulations having good and poor neurologic outcomes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were then derived for both outcome categories.

The study enrolled 30 patients, with ages from 18 to 70 years, of which 19 (63.3%) were male and 11 (36.67%) were female. No risk factor was identified in 23.3% of cases. The most common risk factor was the presence of substance abuse. Among presenting features, headaches were the most common, followed by seizures and focal neurologic deficits (83.3, 30, and 23.3, respectively). Coexisting intraparenchymal hemorrhage was seen in 46.67% of patients, with the transverse sinuses most commonly involved (28.77%). The median neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was 3.415 [interquartile range (IQR) 2.634-5.637], with median platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) 160.728 (IQR 107.728-227.776) and median systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) 1067.883 (IQR 509.694-1522.837). The NLR, PLR, and SII values were found to differ significantly among subgroups having good and poor neurologic outcome on the mRS. PLR and SII significantly differed among subgroups with venous involvement and among subgroups with good and poor neurologic status on GCS, on admission as well as 30-day follow-up. NLR, PLR, and SII values on admission showed a positive association with poor neurologic outcomes.

Here, a significant correlation is seen between the values of complete blood count (CBC)-derived inflammatory markers on admission. Higher-powered studies are needed to assess the potential benefits of incorporating these markers in existing risk stratification models to improve their predictive accuracy.