title: Cerebral venous sinus thrombophlebitis as a complication of acute otitis media.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While headache is a common emergency department chief complaint, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is an infrequently encountered cause of headache and is often not included in emergency physicians' differential diagnoses for headache. Our objective is to review the latest data on epidemiology, presenting symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of CVST.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 27-year-old female presented to our emergency department with headache, blurred vision, and vomiting a day after being diagnosed with acute otitis media. Computed tomography scan of the brain without contrast in the emergency department was suggestive of CVST. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although a rare cause of headache, CVST should be considered for a subset of patients presenting to the emergency department with the common complaint of headache. CVST is diagnosed by magnetic resonance venogram or computed tomography venogram of the brain. Anticoagulation with close monitoring in consultation with appropriate experts is a safe first-line therapy for CVST, even in patients with hemorrhage on initial imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Kunal M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Section of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D020227:Lateral Sinus Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed