The Commonly Uncommon Presentation of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: A Case Report

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is notoriously misdiagnosed as more benign etiologies during the initial examination owing to its relative rarity, its wide variety of presenting symptoms and onset and progression patterns, and its frequent requirement for less commonly utilized imaging techniques in its diagnosis. Accordingly, most cases are identified only after repeated evaluations for symptom persistence or progression, or in cases involving prothrombotic states linked to the disease, such as pregnancy, puerperium, genetic or acquired thrombophilia, and infection.

We present the case of a 29-year-old woman with a history of obesity and oral contraceptive use who was found to have an extensive cerebral venous thrombosis that required 4 emergency department visits and hospital admission with neurology consultation before the diagnosis was made.

It is important for the clinician to identify the risk factors and presenting symptoms associated with CVT to facilitate timely treatment and decrease the risk of long-term complications, which are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this case report is to bring increased awareness to this disease process for these reasons.