Clinical characteristics and outcome of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: A 4-year Hospital-based study from 2008 to 2011

Background and Objective: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is associated with serious morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of patients with CVST, clinical features, and predisposing factors of CVST in a series of 43 patients. Subjects and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study including 43 patients with confirmed diagnosis of CVST, admitted at Hamad Hospital, Doha, Qatar, between January 1, 2008, and December 30, 2011. Results: We identified 43 patients with CVST, the mean age of the patients was 34.3 ± 12.3 years (range: 17–82 years). There were 29/43 (67.4%) males and 14/43 (32.6%) females. The most frequent predisposing factor of CVST was local infection in 13/43 (30.2%), the mean duration of symptoms before presentation was 7.7 ± 9.5 days (range: 1–42 days), and the most common presenting symptom was headache found in 41 (95.3%) patients with the superior sagittal sinus being involved most frequently in 36 (83.7%) patients. The case fatality rate was 4.6%. Conclusion: In our hospital, CVST affects males more than females, with infection being the main predisposing factor and a mortality of 4.6%. Further prospective studies are needed to explain the predominance of infection as a predisposing factor.