Risk of Pulmonary Embolism After Cerebral Venous Thrombosis

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) often affects young patients and can result in substantial disability and death. Though mortality rates among patients with CVT have declined, new epidemiological data suggests a higher annual incidence of CVT than previously reported. A diagnosis of CVT is associated with subsequent risk of venous thromboembolism, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and recurrent CVT, contributing to the adverse clinical outcomes of some CVT patients. However, whether the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism after CVT is similar to that after a diagnosis of DVT has not been carefully explored. To help quantify the disease burden of CVT, we used a large heterogeneous group of patients to evaluate the risk of incident PE, a particularly dangerous form of venous thromboembolism, among patients with CVT as compared with those with DVT. Methods