Endovascular treatment of intracranial venous sinus thrombosis

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of endovascular treatment for intracranial venous sinus thrombosis. Methods Ten patients with intracranial venous sinus thrombosis, confirmed by CT, MRI, MRV and / or DSA and encountered during the period of Aug. 2005-Aug. 2007, were treated with endovascular management after they failed to respond to anticoagulant therapy. Of ten patients, intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombus maceration were carried out in 6, while intravenous thrombolysis, mechanical thrombus maceration together with intra-arterial thrombolysis were employed in 4. After the treatment, the anticoagulant therapy continued for 6 months. The patients were followed up for 12-29 months (mean 21 months). Results After the treatment, the clinical symptoms and signs were completely or partially relieved in eight patients, including disappearance of headache (n=6) and relive of headache (n=2). No obvious improvement was found in one patient and linguistic function disturbance was seen in the remaining one. Lumbar puncture showed that the cerebrospinal fluid pressure returned to normal in all patients. Neither recurrence of thrombosis nor new symptom of neuralgic dysfunction was observed. No procedure-related intracranial or systemic hemorrhagic complications occurred both during and after the operation. Conclusion Endovascular treatment is an effective and safe procedure for the potentially catastrophic intracranial venous thrombosis.