Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Risk Factors and Their Relationship with Optic Coherence Tomography: A CaseControl Study

Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon condition with an estimated annual occurrence of five cases per million individuals. This research aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with CVT and their correlation with optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings. Methods: The study involved 30 patients diagnosed with CVT confirmed through neuroimaging, alongside a control group of 30 healthy individuals. The patients underwent OCT assessments following their diagnosis. Healthy participants, randomly selected from hospital staff without any known health issues, were examined by an ophthalmologist. Those with normal eye examinations proceeded to OCT, where their macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) were measured. Results: The majority of participants in the CVT group were female (80%), with a mean age of 34.98±3.78 years. Headaches were reported as the most prevalent symptom (66.7%). All patients in the CVT group were pregnant, contrasting with none in the control group, indicating a significant association with CVT (P=0.03). Notably, the inferior temporal layer thickness was greater in the CVT group compared to controls (P=0.04). Additionally, patients exhibiting papilledema had a thicker superior temporal layer than those without papilledema (P=0.02). Women in the postpartum period showed an 18.61-fold increase in the likelihood of developing CVT (P=0.03). Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that while macular thickness tends to decrease in CVT patients, various layers of the RNFL show increased thickness. The clinical implications of these observations remain unclear.