Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis Incidence Is Higher Than Previously Thought

See related article, p 2169. Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare neurovascular disorder with a highly variable presentation and clinical course. The low incidence and incongruous presentation of CVT often lead to late diagnosis. The incidence of CVT has been reported as being between 2 and 5 million per year. A recent report suggested a much higher incidence (13 million person-years). Incidence may have been previously underestimated for several reasons, primarily inaccurate coding and lack of sophisticated neuroimaging. The purpose of this study was to accurately determine the incidence of CVT in Adelaide, South Australia by using a novel ascertainment methodology. We hypothesized that incidence would be higher than previously reported.