title: Cavernous sinus syndrome: a series of 126 patients.
abstract: The etiology of cavernous sinus syndrome (CSS) remains difficult to determine in spite of the development of neuroimaging techniques. We conducted the current study to identify clinical and imaging features that allow a reliable approach to the etiologic diagnosis of patients with CSS. We studied a consecutive series of 126 patients with CSS, defined as involvement of 2 or more of the third, fourth, fifth (V1, V2), or sixth cranial nerves, or involvement of only 1 of them in combination with a neuroimaging-confirmed lesion in the cavernous sinus. Tumors were the most common cause of CSS (80 patients). All patients with optic nerve involvement had a tumor. No patient with a normal MRI had a tumor. The lack of pain during the course of the disease (odds ratio [OR], 0.58; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.06-0.40), V2 involvement (OR, 12.17; 95% CI, 2.98-49.71), and male sex (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.31-8.14) were independently associated with the presence of a tumor. Pain at the onset of disease (OR, 12.09; 95% CI, 3.14-46.50) and third cranial nerve involvement (OR, 4.9; 95% CI, 1.01-24.60) were independently associated with Tolosa-Hunt syndrome.
authors.affiliation: From Department of Neurology (SF, SM-Y, FR), Department of Neurosurgery (OG, JA), Department of Ophthalmology (EM, JA), and Department of Preventive Medicine (JMR), University Hospital of Bellvitge, IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Godino
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martínez-Yélamos
authors.forename: Edilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mesa
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arruga
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramón
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Acebes
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rubio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002426:Cavernous Sinus / Q000473:pathology*; D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013030:Spain; D013129:Spinal Puncture; D013577:Syndrome; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed