ESOC 2023 | Risk factors, diagnosis and treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis

Diana Aguiar de Sousa, MD, PhD, University of Lisbon, Santa Maria Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal, speaks about the risk factors, clinical presentation, management, and treatment options for cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). One of the least common forms of stroke, CVT mostly effects young adults, particularly women. Risk factors for the disease can be transient such as pregnancy, oral contraception, and dehydration, or more permanent such as thrombotic disease, genetic thrombophilia, and cancer. Some adenoviral vaccines have also been reported to cause severe CVT by vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia. Diagnosis of CVT is still challenging for clinicians due to its variable presentation and therefore, patients may not be diagnosed in the acute stages. Headaches are a common complaint in patients with CVT, however further examination such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is needed to diagnose CVT, which may not be easily accessible in emergency rooms. Standard treatment of CVT is therapeutic anticoagulation, which typically starts with parenteral anticoagulants. There are discussions as to whether severe patients may benefit from more invasive treatment, such as endovascular treatment. There is still more to learn about the diagnosis, management, and prognosis of patients with CVT. More awareness about CVT alongside improvement in diagnosis is important so patients with CVT are not missed. This interview took place during the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) in Munich, Germany.

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