title: Natural history of cerebral vein thrombosis: a systematic review.
abstract: Cerebral vein thrombosis (CVT) has been considered, until a few years ago, an uncommon disease with significant long-term morbidity and high mortality rate. New noninvasive diagnostic techniques have increased the frequency with which this disease is diagnosed; despite this, there continues to be little data on its natural history. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the mortality rate, the rate of disability at long-term follow-up, and the incidence of recurrence after a first episode of CVT; to determine clinical and radiologic predictors of death and dependence; and to identify possible risk factors for recurrence. (
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE and EMBASE databases, reference lists of selected articles and authors' libraries.) Nineteen studies were identified. Mortality rate during peri-hospitalization period is 5.6% (range, 0%-15.2%) and 9.4% (range, 0%-39%) at the end of follow-up period. Eighty-eight percent of surviving patients recover completely or have only a mild functional or cognitive deficit. Two thirds of patients with CVT recanalized within the first few months after presentation, and 2.8% (range, 0%-11.7%) had objectively confirmed recurrence. We conclude that patients with CVT have a low risk of death and that most patients have a good long-term prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dentali
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gianni
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Crowther
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ageno
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016239:MEDLINE; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors