Clinical and Radiological Manifestations of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: Are There Any Differences According to Presence or Absence of Cortical Vein Involvement?

Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is difficult to diagnose because of the variety of its clinical and imaging findings and the many anatomical variations in the cerebral venous system. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the clinical and radiological CVT and to evaluate differences in their findings, according to the presence or absence of cortical vein involvement (CVI). Patients and Methods: From the 13 years database of our institution, forty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. In all patients, CVT was confirmed on CT venography, MR venography and/or digital subtraction angiography (DSA). We retrospectively reviewed the clinical presentations and CT and MR findings of the patients and compared their findings, according to the presence or absence of CVI. Results: CVI was detected in 31 patients (63.3%). The most common clinical symptom was headache (61.2%), followed by focal neurologic deficit (FND) (49.0%), seizure (40.8%), and altered consciousness (18.4%). FND was frequent in the CVI group (67.7 vs. 16.7%, P = .001). On CT (n = 49) and/or MR (n = 38), intracranial hemorrhage was present in 33 patients (67.3%) and parenchymal hyperintensity was detected in 24/38 (63.2%). Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was frequent in the CVI group (51.6 vs. 16.7%, P = .018). The cortical vein (CV) was the most common site of CVT (63.3%), followed by superior sagittal (61.2%), transverse (53.1%), sigmoid (42.9%), and straight (20.4%) sinuses. The superior sagittal sinus thrombosis was frequently associated with concomitant CV thrombosis (74.2 vs. 38.9%, P = .032). Conclusion: CVT commonly involved the CV. Although its clinical manifestation was diverse, FND was common in the CVI group. Intracranial hemorrhage and parenchymal hyperintensity were common CT and MR findings and SAH was commonly associated in the CVI group.