Prognosis of cerebral vein thrombosis presenting as isolated headache: Early vs. late diagnosis

Abstract

Objective: To analyse the outcome of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) patients presenting with isolated headache, specifically to compare isolated headache patients with early vs. late CVT diagnosis. Method: In the International Study on Cerebral Vein and Dural Sinus Thrombosis (ISCVT) database we compared the outcome of patients with isolated headache and a CVT diagnosed early (≤7 days from onset) vs. late (>7 days). We retrieved 100 patients with isolated headache, 52 patients with early CVT diagnosis (early isolated headache) and 48 with late CVT diagnosis (late isolated headache). Results: Neurological worsening was more frequent within early isolated headache patients (23% vs. 8%) (p = 0.045). At the last follow-up (median 411 days), 93% patients had a complete recovery, and 4% were dead or dependent, with no significant difference between early isolated headache and late isolated headache. Conclusion: The outcome of CVT patients with isolated headache diagnosed early or late was similarly favourable, but there was a higher proportion of neurological worsening in the acute phase among early isolated headache patients, who need close neurological monitoring.