Cerebral Venous Thrombosis after SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccination against COVID-19

Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 May 18;12(5):1253. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12051253.

Abstract

In the last 3 years, COVID-19 pandemic has produced great impacts on global population in terms of health and social costs. Pneumonia represents only one of several pathologies associated to COVID-19 disease. Among these, the cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), constitutes an important cause of stroke. Here, we report a case of CVT diagnosed approximately 2 weeks after first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination, in a patient affected by COVID-19 few months earlier. He presented with headache and severe asthenia. The laboratory tests put in evidence thrombocytopenia and D-dimer elevation. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a computed tomography (CT) demonstrated hemorrhagic and ischemic phenomena on the right ventral thalamic nuclei, left thalamus, hippocampal and parahippocampal regions and the splenium of the corpus callosum. The study revealed a poorly opacified vein of Galeno and straight sinus. Heparin administration improved his clinical status; platelets values also arose over time.

Keywords: COVID-19; Susceptibility-Weighted Images; cerebral venous thrombosis; vaccination.

Grants and funding

This work has been supported with the founding of Regione Puglia and CNR for Tecnopolo per la Medicina di Precisione. D.G.R. n. 2117 of 21.11.2018 (B84I18000540002).