Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Adult Medical Ward from, 2025

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare but potentially life-threatening cerebrovascular condition, often affecting young adults and associated with diverse risk factors including infections, pregnancy, malignancy, and prothrombotic states. Despite advances in diagnostic imaging, CVT remains underdiagnosed in many low- and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia, due to limited awareness and diagnostic challenges. Current evidence on its prevalence and clinical characteristics in the St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) context is scarce. Therefore, this studies aimed is to determine the prevalence and describe the clinical characteristics of CVT among patients admitted to adult medical wards of SPHMMC from September 2020 to August 2025. Method: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. All patients admitted to medical wards during the study period with a confirmed diagnosis of CVT were included. The Data were extracted from patient medical charts using a structured checklist, covering socio demographic information, clinical presentations, comorbidities and risk factors, laboratory and imaging findings, and in-hospital outcomes. The Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 27. Result: Of the 7,075 medical ward admissions during the study period, 176 patients (2.49%) were diagnosed with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). The majority were young adults aged 26–35 years, and 73.3% were female. Headache was the most common presenting symptom (76.1%), followed by focal neurological deficits (38.6%), altered consciousness (35.8%), and seizures (34.7%). The superior sagittal sinus was the most frequently involved site. Anticoagulation therapy was initiated in 90.9% of patients. In-hospital complications occurred in 50% of cases, primarily infections and bleeding, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 5.7%. Conclusion and recommendation: CVT predominantly affects young women and commonly presents with headache and neurological deficits. Early recognition, timely neuroimaging, and anticoagulation are essential for favourable outcomes. Strengthening follow-up and long-term monitoring is recommended to improve detection, management, and understanding of risk factor Keywords: Cerebral venous thrombosis; prevalence; clinical characteristics