title: Functional outcome after severe cerebral venous thrombosis.
abstract: Severe cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare cerebrovascular condition which in the more severe cases warrants intensive care treatment. While the outcome in the majority of uncomplicated CVT cases is good, it may be fatal in more affected patients. We provide long-term functional and quality of life (QOL) outcome data in the form of a retrospective analysis of 10 patients admitted to a neurological ICU with severe CVT. Outcome measures used were the modified Rankin Scale, the 36-item Short Form Health Survey, and the Psychological General Well-Being index. The mortality rate was 50% but 4 out 5 survivors had a good functional outcome with normal QOL despite a very severe clinical course. This finding justifies extensive life-sustaining therapy as the prognosis even of severe cases may be good if the acute phase is survived.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Munich Klinikum Grosshadern, Marchioninistr 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. andreas.bender@med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.forename: Gernot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schulte-Altedorneburg
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pfefferkorn
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Birnbaum
authors.forename: Berend
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Feddersen
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brückmann
authors.forename: Hans-Walter
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Straube
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016019:Survival Analysis; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy