Background and Purpose
Cortical vein thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon site of involvement in cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT). Few reports have described pediatric CVT, and none have differentiated its unique attributes. This study assessed the clinical features and radiographic outcome of a cohort of children with CSVT, comparing those with CVT to those without CVT.
Methods
Children diagnosed with CSVT were retrospectively reviewed and separated into two groups based on the presence or absence of cortical vein involvement.
Results
Fifty patients met inclusion criteria, including 12 with CVT. The CVT group was more likely to present with seizure (P=0.0271), altered mental status (P=0.0271), and a family history of clotting disorder (P=0.0477). Acute imaging of the CVT group more commonly demonstrated concurrent superior sagittal sinus thrombosis (P=0.0024), parenchymal hemorrhage (P=0.0141), and restricted diffusion (P<0.0001). At follow up, the CVT group more commonly showed headache, seizure, and/or focal neurologic deficit (P=0.0449), and venous infarction (P=0.0007).
Conclusions
In our cohort, CVT was significantly associated with seizures at presentation, hemorrhage and restricted diffusion on acute imaging, as well as neurologic disability and venous infarction at follow up. Involvement of cortical veins in CSVT is associated with an increased risk of infarction and adverse outcome in children.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.