Cerebral venous thrombosis: Experience in a national reference hospital in Peru

Aim: To describe the incidence, clinical characteristics, evolution, and outcomes of inpatients with the diagnosis of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). Methods: Descriptive observational study in a national reference hospital in Peru. The study population included adult patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of CVT, during the period from January 2019 to December 2023. Demographic, clinical, imaging, laboratory, and clinical evolution data were recorded, as well as important clinical outcomes such as admission to the ICU, mortality, functionality at discharge, and recurrence 6 months after the event. Categorical variables were described, and the annual incidence rate of CVT per 1000 stroke cases was calculated. Results: Twelve patients with a diagnosis of CVT confirmed by an angiographic method were included. The annual incidence rate was between 5.14 cases per 1000 patients with cerebrovascular disease in 2022 and 11.03 cases per 1000 in 2020. The majority were women (58.3%) and the median age was 47.5 years. The most affected area was the transverse sinus (66.7%). The most frequent initial clinical symptoms were headache, motor deficit and intracranial hypertension. The median time from the onset of the clinical picture to anticoagulant treatment was 6.5 days and the hospital stay was 33.5 days. There was a 41.7% admission to the ICU, half were discharged with functional independence, no mortality was reported and a quarter of the cases presented recurrence. Conclusion: A first local study is reported on the incidence, clinical characteristics, and hospital outcome of Peruvian patients with CVT. Certain aspects are highlighted such as timely diagnosis and treatment in this condition that could have been related to the good clinical outcomes.