Abstract
Background: Risk factors for cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) in children include local and systemic underlying conditions, drug toxicity, and hereditary prothrombotic risk factors. Their relevance to the risk of a second venous thrombosis (VT), compared with other clinical, neuroimaging and treatment variables, is unknown.
Methods: 330 of 407 consecutively enrolled CVT-patients aged newborn to <18 years (median 5.3 years; male 55%) were prospectively followed for a median (range) of 33 (12–84) months. In accordance to international treatment guidelines, 259 children (78.5%) received acute antithrombotic therapy (AT) with UFH or LMWH, followed by long-term AT with LMWH or warfarin in 218 cases (66.0%).
Findings: Recurrent VT was diagnosed in 19 of 330 children (5.8%) at a median (range) age of 6 (0.5–84) months following CVT, with no difference observed between the study centres (p=0.84). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the risk of recurrence was significantly higher in those with older age at first CVT onset (p=0.02), those in whom AT was not administered prior to recurrence (p=0.0003), those who did not have complete patency rates on repeat venography at 3–6 months (p=0.01), and those subjects carrying the factor II G20210A mutation (p=0.03).
Interpretation: Age at CVT onset, administration of AT, poor patency rates, and the factor II G20210A variant were of relevance to recurrent VT in children with CVT. Until evidence-based data derived from randomized treatment trials are available the message of this follow-up study is to administer any AT prophylaxis on an individual patient basis in paediatric CVT cases in newly identified VT risk situations.
Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and the G20210A Mutation of Factor II