Cerebral Venous Thrombosis

Background and Purpose: Epidemiology of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) has been reported to be changing. Because long-term nationwide data are needed to confirm this, we studied CVT occurrence between 2005 and 2014 in Finland. Methods: All acute CVT admissions were retrieved from a mandatory registry covering mainland Finland. Patients aged ≥18 years were included. One admission per patient was allowed. Results: We identified 563 patients with CVT (56.5% women). Overall incidence was 1.32/100 000 (95% CI, 1.21–1.43) per year with a 5.0% annual increase. In people <55 years of age, incidence was 0.92/100 000 (0.76–1.10) for men and 1.65/100 000 (1.43–1.89) for women, whereas for those 55 years or older incidence was 1.61 (1.34–1.91) for men and 1.17 (0.96–1.41) for women. In-hospital mortality was 2.1% with no sex difference. One-year mortality was 7.9%. Long-term mortality was higher in men (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.61 [1.09–2.38]) and in older patients (1.95 [1.69–2.24]; per 10-year increment). Conclusions: Overall incidence of CVT in Finland was similar to that reported in the Netherlands and in Australia. There was a 5.0% yearly increase in the rate of admissions while in-hospital mortality was low. Sex-specific incidence rates differed markedly between younger and older people. Long-term mortality increased with age and was higher in men.