[A case of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis occurring in ulcerative colitis]

A 33-year-old man with a 13-year history of ulcerative colitis developed generalized clonic convulsions after transient right hemiparesis. A computed tomographic scan revealed a hemorrhagic lesion in the left frontal lobe and contrast tomography demonstrated delta-sign in the occipital area. A sagittal gadolinium-contrast magnetic resonance imaging scan demonstrated a low signal intensity area in the superior sagittal sinus. The venous phase of his carotid angiogram showed a lack of filling of the superior sagittal sinus. Coagulation studies revealed abnormal findings, elevated fibrinogen and increased aggregation of platelets. Cerebral venous or sagittal thrombosis occurring in ulcerative colitis is very rare in Japan. But thromboembolism is known as one of the extraintestinal complications of ulcerative colitis, and a hypercoagulable state may occur even in the inactive state. Ulcerative colitis should be considered as one of the etiologies of thromboembolism in addition to the results of coagulation studies for the prevention of cerebrovascular diseases.