Initial Misdiagnosis of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: A Case Report

Abstract

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare condition with an incidence ranging from 2 to 4 cases per million people per year. Its presentation is highly variable and can include headaches, changes in vision, focal neurological deficits, seizures and coma. Treatment of CVT remains controversial, particularly regarding long-term anti-coagulation. We report a case of a 35-year-old Asian male with a history of anti-thrombin III deficiency that was not adequately anti-coagulated. He presented with an acute and progressively worsening left-sided headache and ipsilateral ear fullness. The patient was initially misdiagnosed with a migraine headache after computed tomography (CT) of the head was interpreted as normal.




J Med Cases. 2013;4(11):734-737
doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/jmc1612e