Navigating the Complication: Acute Mastoiditis Causing Cerebral Venous Thrombosis in an Adult

Acute mastoiditis is an infection of the air cells in the mastoid and is primarily seen in the pediatric population. This disease usually occurs after patients develop otitis media, which can result in acute mastoiditis as a complication. Most patients usually present with generalized symptoms of an infection; however, in some instances, cerebral venous thrombosis can occur. Such a rare complication has been described in children, although in rare instances, it can happen in adults. In fact, only a few cases of acute mastoiditis resulting in cerebral venous thrombosis have been reported in adults, but usually, such patients have some form of underlying thrombophilia. However, in this case, a thrombophilia workup was unremarkable. Here, a patient presented to the emergency department and developed cerebral venous thrombosis secondary to acute mastoiditis without evidence of thrombophilia.