title: Management of lateral sinus thrombosis: update and literature review.
abstract: The management of four cases of lateral sinus thrombosis (LST) over a four-year period at the Royal Darwin Hospital is presented in this retrospective review. The patients were aboriginal and presented with otalgia, otorrhoea and sepsis. Two cases had an associated complication of an otitic hydrocephalus and a subperiosteal abscess. Cholesteatoma was found in three cases. Computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed the LST in three cases. Three patients were anaemic and thrombocytopenic. All patients had positive blood cultures. The organisms were predominantly mixed anaerobes and Bacteroides species. Three patients were managed surgically as a two-stage procedure. One patient was managed as a single-stage procedure with a modified radical mastoidectomy. Therapeutic anticoagulation was utilized in one case. There were no deaths. The prognosis of LST is good if treatment is instituted early with broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and surgery. The role of clot removal at surgery and the use of anticoagulation are discussed in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia. eooi@ozemail.com.au
authors.forename: Eng Hooi
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hilton
authors.forename: Garrett
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications; D020227:Lateral Sinus Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000925:Anticoagulants