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Abstract
Venous sinus thrombosis (VST) is a rare entity in pediatrics, probably under-diagnosed and potentially serious, described as a cause of stroke in childhood.
Objective: To describe the clinical presentation, risk factors, treatment, and evolution of pediatric patients with VST.
Patients and Method: Retrospective study of patients admitted to a referral hospital, diagnosed with VST, aged between one month and seventeen years, from January 2011 to December 2019. The following data were reviewed: age at diagnosis, sex, signs and symptoms of presentation, predisposing mechanisms, study of thrombophilias, treatment and duration of treatment, follow-up protocol, long-term sequelae, and mortality. Due to their differences in clinical presentation, the sample was divided into two age groups: young children between 1 month and 5 years and older children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years.
Results: 17 patients were diagnosed with VST, 45% were women, with a median age of 4.5 years. The most frequent symptoms in older children (6-17 years old) were headache (80%) and diplopia (60%). In children under 5 years old, the most frequent clinical presentation was cerebellar ataxia (42%), asymptomatic (34%), and headache (25%). In 23.5% of the total, VST was a casual finding in neuroimaging. 13 patients presented relevant histories such as complicated otitis media with mastoiditis (53%), severe traumatic head injury (6%), and resection of a space-occupying lesion of the brain (6%). 23% of the cases were idiopathic and in 23% there were prothrombotic factors. The treatment of choice in all patients was low-molecular-weight heparin. During the short-term followup, 11.8% presented self-limited neurological symptoms. One patient presented long-term paresis of the sixth paired cranial nerve. There were no deaths or recurrences of the episode in our series.
Conclusions: VST is a rare entity and it usually appears with signs and symptoms of intracranial hypertension. It is a potentially serious condition and early diagnosis and treatment can help minimize long-term sequelae.
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