title: Risk of thromboembolism after cerebral venous thrombosis.
abstract: The outcome of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) has been studied infrequently. We assessed the frequency of recurrence of cerebral or systemic thromboembolism and factors influencing recurrence. We performed a retrospective study of consecutive patients with CVT in the period 1985-2002 who were admitted to the University Hospital Gasthuisberg. We performed a chart review and a semi-standardized telephone interview that focused on recurrent CVT or systemic thromboembolism. Fifty-four CVT patients with a mean age of 42 years were followed up for a mean of 3.5 years. Eighty percent were women. Coagulation disorders were found in 17 patients (31%). One patient (1.9%) had recurrent CVT and seven patients (12.9%) suffered systemic thromboembolism after a median of 2.5 months. Patients with recurrent thromboembolism more often had coagulopathies (P = 0.04) or a history of deep venous thrombosis (P = 0.007). Patients with early recurrent venous thromboembolism often were not treated with oral anticoagulants (P < 0.001). It was evident from the above study that a substantial number of patients suffer recurrent thromboembolism after CVT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Maqueda
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thijs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology