Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST) in Adults- A Case Series of (5) Five Patients from Bisha, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis is rare cause of stroke particularly prevalent among young adults. CVST is a potentially life threatening condition if not recognised early, but unlike arterial stroke, it has a good prognosis if appropriate treatment is instituted early. We present five cases of cerebral sinus venous thrombosis managed in our hospital with four of the affected patients being young females signifying a female predilection. The risk factors were varied and included hypothyroidism, post-traumatic epilepsy with subdural haematoma, puerperium and COVID-19 vaccination. The causes of CVST are protean and its symptomatology is diverse. A high index of clinical suspicion and Magnetic Resonance Venogram (MRV) of the brain facilitated early and prompt diagnosis .In our case series, three out five  patients had left transverse sinus thrombosis on MRV brain and one patient had a superior sagittal sinus and right transverse sinus thrombosis. The patients had anticoagulation with heparin which is the mainstay of treatment for CVST. Four patients improved and were discharged or referred and one died. Prognosis depends on the predisposing factors. Prognosis is usually good with up to 80% of patients making a complete recovery.