Previous reports and meta-analyses derived from small case series reported a mortality rate of up to 40% in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 associated cerebral venous thrombosis (COVID-CVT). In this article the authors assessed the clinical characteristics and outcomes in an international cohort of patients with COVID-CVT. This was a registry study of consecutive COVID-CVT patients diagnosed between March 2020 and March 2023. Data collected by the International Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Consortium from patients with CVT diagnosed between 2017 and 2018 served as a comparison. Outcome analyses were adjusted for age and sex. 70 patients with COVID-CVT were included from 23 hospitals in 15 countries and 206 controls from 14 hospitals in 13 countries. The proportion of women was smaller in the COVID-CVT group (50% vs 68%, p < 0.01). A higher proportion of COVID-CVT patients presented with altered mental state (44% vs 25%, p < 0.01), the median thrombus load was higher in COVID-CVT patients (3 [IQR 2-4] vs 2 [1-3], p < 0.01) and the length of hospital stay was longer compared to controls (11 days [IQR 7-20] vs 8 [4-15], p = 0.02). In-hospital mortality did not differ (5/67 [7%, 95% CI 3-16] vs 7/206 [3%, 2-7], aOR 2.6 [95% CI 0.7-9]), nor did the frequency of functional independence after 6 months (modified Rankin Scale 0-2; 45/58 [78%, 95% CI 65-86] vs 161/185 [87%, 81-91], aOR 0.5 [95% CI 0.2-1.02]). The authors concluded that in contrast to previous studies, the in-hospital mortality rate and functional outcomes during follow-up did not differ between COVID-CVT patients and the pre-COVID-19 controls.
Scutelnic A, van de Munckhof A, Miraclin AT, Aaron S, Hameed S, Wasay M, Grosu O, Krzywicka K, Sánchez van Kammen M, Lindgren E, Moreira T, Acampora R, Negro A, Karapanayiotides T, Yaghi S, Revert A, Cuadrado Godia E, Garcia-Madrona S, La Spina P, Grillo F, Giammello F, Nguyen TN, Abdalkader M, Buture A, Sofia Cotelli M, Raposo N, Tsivgoulis G, Candelaresi P, Ciacciarelli A, Mbroh J, Batenkova T, Scoppettuolo P, Zedde M, Pascarella R, Antonenko K, Kristoffersen ES, Kremer Hovinga JA, Jood K, Aguiar de Sousa D, Poli S, Tatlisumak T, Putaala J, Coutinho JM, Ferro JM, Arnold M, Heldner MR. Characteristics and outcomes of cerebral venous thrombosis associated with COVID-19. Eur Stroke J. 2024 Sep;9(3):676-686. doi: 10.1177/23969873241241885. Epub 2024 Apr 4. PMID: 38572798; PMCID: PMC11418515.