1/24. Application of a rheolytic thrombectomy device in the treatment of dural sinus thrombosis: a new technique.We present a novel application of a transvascular rheolytic thrombectomy system in the treatment of symptomatic dural sinus thrombosis in a 54-year-old woman with somnolence and left-sided weakness. The diagnosis of bilateral transverse and superior sagittal sinus thrombosis was made and the patient was treated with anticoagulant therapy. After an initial period of improvement, she became comatose and hemiplegic 8 days after presentation. After excluding intracerebral hemorrhage by MR imaging, we performed angiography and transfemoral venous thrombolysis with a hydrodynamic thrombectomy catheter, followed by intrasinus urokinase thrombolytic therapy over the course of 2 days. This technique resulted in dramatic sinus thrombolysis and near total neurologic recovery. Six months after treatment, the patient showed mild cognitive impairment and no focal neurologic deficit. Our preliminary experience suggests that this technique may play a significant role in the endovascular treatment of this potentially devastating disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/24. Emergent decompressive craniectomy in patients with fixed dilated pupils due to cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis: report of three cases.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis is a rare cause of stroke. Although morbidity and mortality have greatly decreased in recent years as a result of early diagnosis and timely medical treatment, when coma occurs the prognosis remains poor. We evaluated whether emergent decompressive craniectomy has a role in the treatment of patients with brain herniation from dural sinus thrombosis and hemorrhagic infarct. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: Three patients developed large hemorrhagic infarct with coma and bilaterally fixed and dilated pupils resulting from aseptic dural sinus thrombosis. INTERVENTION: Two patients underwent emergent surgical decompression as soon as brain herniation developed, and these patients had complete functional recovery. One underwent delayed surgical decompression and remained severely disabled. CONCLUSION: Our results provide preliminary evidence that emergent decompressive craniectomy is effective in patients with brain herniation from dural sinus thrombosis, provided that the clinical onset is recent. We therefore recommend consideration of this aggressive surgical technique for such patients, who may survive with good outcomes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/24. Superior sagittal sinus thrombosis induced by thyrotoxicosis. Case report.There is a wide variety of disorders associated with thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), including infectious disease. noninfectious conditions such as vasculitis and hypercoagulable states, and complications arising from pregnancy or use of oral contraceptive medications. Despite these well-defined associations, approximately 25% of the cases remain idiopathic. In this article the authors describe a patient who was found to have SSS thrombosis while experiencing a thyrotoxic phase of graves disease. The patient presented with intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, seizure, coma, a raised fibrinogen concentration, low protein c activity, and atrial fibrillations. Thrombolysis was successfully performed despite the coexistence of thrombosis and intracranial hemorrhage. patients with thyrotoxicosis and a diffuse goiter may be predisposed to the development of SSS thrombosis, as a result of hypercoagulation and stasis of local venous blood flow. In the present case, a patient in whom thrombosis coexisted with intracranial hemorrhage was successfully treated using thrombolytic therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/24. Thalamic stroke secondary to straight sinus thrombosis in a nephrotic child.A 7-year-old Chinese boy with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome developed thalamic stroke secondary to straight sinus thrombosis. He was hospitalized due to status epilepticus and coma. The child recovered after treatment by low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and warfarin. This case highlights the importance of magnetic resonance imaging with venography in the early diagnosis of cerebral sinus thrombosis (CST) in nephrotic children and the effectiveness of anticoagulation therapy in improving the neurological outcome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/24. Dural sinus thrombosis presenting as unilateral lobar haematomas with mass effect: an easily misdiagnosed cause of cerebral haemorrhage.Dural sinus thrombosis has protean clinical and radiological manifestations ranging from minimal effacement of sulci with no symptoms to severe haemorrhagic infarcts associated with focal deficits, coma and even death. An uncommon form of presentation is characterized by unilateral lobar haemorrhage associated with extensive oedema and parenchymal distortion. In an acute presentation, this might resemble haemorrhage into a tumour. In delayed presentations, the haematoma, being iso- or hypodense and showing peripheral ring-like enhancement, can mimic aggressive tumours or infective processes. As this is an uncommon condition, misdiagnosis is common with the potential for mismanagement and adverse outcomes. We present five such consecutive cases that were initially misdiagnosed as other entities. Each of these cases on closer inspection show features observed on CT and MRI that should have suggested a diagnosis of dural venous sinus thrombosis. One of these cases progressed to not only extensively involve the superficial sinuses but also the deep veins, with a significant adverse outcome. The imaging features of this interesting variant of dural sinus thrombosis are reviewed. The haemodynamic basis for haemorrhage and anatomical basis for the lateralization of the lesions are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/24. Dural arteriovenous malformation and sinus thromboses in a patient with prostate cancer: an autopsy case.A 67-year old man with prostate cancer showed Balint's syndrome, memory disturbance, anosognosia and hallucinations after having been comatose. Radiological findings indicated bilateral dural arteriovenous malformation (DAVM) and thrombosis at the bilateral transverse sinuses and superior sagittal sinus. Pathological findings showed abnormally dilated veins, diffuse neuron loss and gliosis in the parieto-occipital lobe. The chlormadinone and prostate cancer are speculated to have caused the dural sinus thrombosis which probably induced the DAVM.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/24. Children with cerebral venous thrombosis diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography.From 1985 to 1991, 13 children were diagnosed at the University of illinois College of medicine at Peoria, Saint Francis Medical Center, with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) by magnetic resonance imaging scan. Ages ranged from newborn to 5 years. Six children were premature neonates, five were term neonates and two were 5 years old. In the premature neonates, thrombosis was usually associated with other problems. All the term neonates had seizures. In all neonates, thrombosis resolved without any specific treatment. In the two older children, one presented with pseudotumor cerebri and one with coma. These children required neurosurgical intervention. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained in 9 of 13 children and showed thrombus resolution in each case. Three children were studied in the acute and convalescent stages by magnetic resonance angiography using time-of-flight techniques. Each follow-up magnetic resonance angiogram showed improvement in venous flow consistent with their clinical course and other imaging studies. We conclude that 1) CVT in children encompasses a range of clinical conditions which may or may not require neurosurgical intervention; 2) magnetic resonance imaging is superior to other modalities for the diagnosis of CVT; and 3) magnetic resonance angiography is an alternative means to monitor the evolution of CVT and efficacy of therapeutic intervention.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/24. Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis in severe falciparum malaria.Common causes of coma in falciparum malaria are cerebral malaria, hypoglycaemia and electrolyte disturbances. Focal deficits due to arterial infarcts may sometimes occur in children, but are rare in adults. Three adults with falciparum malaria who had fever, altered consciousness and focal neurological deficits (one of whom also had seizures) are being reported here. CT scan of the brain revealed haemorrhagic infarction of the cerebral cortex and subcortical white matter with surrounding oedema suggestive of venous infarction in all three patients. The diagnosis of cerebral venous thrombosis was missed in the first patient, and was detected only at autopsy. In the next two patients, superior sagittal sinus thrombosis was confirmed angiographically. Only one patient survived; the other two died of increased intracranial pressure. Two of the three patients also had plasmodium vivax co-infection. A hypercoagulable state resulting from severe malaria may be responsible for this rare and potentially fatal complication. Cerebral malaria may be associated with raised intracranial pressure due to cerebral oedema. Cerebral venous thrombosis may worsen this and adversely affect outcome. This diagnosis should be suspected in patients with severe malaria who develop focal neurological deficits and confirmed by appropriate imaging; judicious use of local thrombolytic therapy may help improve outcome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/24. Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis: patients with a fatal outcome during intravenous dose-adjusted heparin treatment.INTRODUCTION: Although anticoagulation (AC) reduces the risk of a fatal outcome or severe disability in patients with cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST), prognosis of severe cases is still difficult to predict. The authors studied the clinical course of patients with CVST who died despite AC therapy to look for clinical features that might explain the lethal course of these patients. MATERIALS AND methods: Retrospective analysis of a series of 79 consecutive patients with CVST who were treated with a standard regimen of dose-adjusted iv heparin. Case histories of patients with a fatal outcome are presented. RESULTS: The authors identified eight patients with a fatal outcome. All patients were stuporous or comatose at the start of AC, and four patients showed markedly delayed intracranial circulation times, indicating extensive venous thrombosis. Two patients improved, but deteriorated secondarily after reduction or discontinuation of AC. Sufficient activated partial thromboplastin time levels were reached only after a delay in three patients, and critical deterioration occurred in two of them during this time. CONCLUSION: Although inadequate AC may have contributed to the fatal outcome, some patients with extensive venous thrombosis who are stuporous or comatose at the start of AC may carry an increased risk of death, despite heparin therapy. More aggressive treatment approaches, such as endovascular thrombolysis, may be needed for this subgroup of patients with CVST.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/24. Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare and potentially deadly condition. Common etiologies include hypercoagulable diseases, low flow states, dehydration, adjacent infectious processes, oral contraceptives, hormonal replacement therapy, pregnancy, and puerperium. Symptoms include nausea, seizures, severe focal neurological deficits, coma, and headache (the most common presenting symptom). Anticoagulation is the mainstay of treatment for CVST. Transvenous clot lysis can be performed using injected thrombolytic agents and specialized catheters for clot retrieval.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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