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(Stroke. 2009;40:1509.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Research Letters

Brain Lesions in Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis

Alexander Y. Zubkov, MD, PhD; Robert D. McBane, MD; Robert D. Brown, MD, MPH Alejandro A. Rabinstein, MD

From the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Correspondence to Alejandro A. Rabinstein, MD, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905. E-mail rabinstein.alejandro{at}mayo.edu

Background and Purpose— Analyze the relationship between the location and extent of sinus thrombosis and presence and severity of brain lesions.

Methods— Retrospective chart and neuroimaging review of patients with documented CVST. A CVST score was devised to quantify the extent of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

Results— Nineteen of 56 (34%) patients had brain lesions. The extent of sinus thrombus was associated with increased risk of brain lesions (CVST score 1.9 among patients without brain lesions versus 3.1 in those with lesions; P=0.006). Age, sex, and acquired or hereditary thrombophilias were not associated with the risk of parenchymal lesions. Functional outcomes were favorable even in patients with extensive CVST and parenchymal lesions at presentation.

Conclusions— The extent of the sinus involvement correlates with the risk of brain lesions in patients with CVST, but additional factors might also contribute to their occurrence.

Key Words: cerebral sinus thrombosis • hemorrhage • stroke • neuroimaging