Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Oct 19;40(6):263-276.
doi: 10.1080/01658107.2016.1230138. eCollection 2016 Dec.

Septic Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Affiliations
Review

Septic Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Dinushi Weerasinghe et al. Neuroophthalmology. .

Abstract

Septic cavernous sinus thrombosis is a rare but serious complication of infection of the cavernous sinuses. There are no randomised, controlled trials of management of this condition and existing reviews of the literature are somewhat dated. The authors report a case with a favourable outcome and then present the findings of a literature review of the management of this condition. Outcome data suggest that corticosteroids are of equivocal benefit whereas antibiotics and anticoagulation are beneficial.

Keywords: Cavernous sinus thrombosis; infection; treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A) Brain MRI (T1-weighted with gadolinium) showing non- opacification of the right cavernous sinus. (B) Contrast-enhanced brain CT showing bilateral engorged thrombosed superior ophthalmic veins. (C) Chest X ray showing multiple opacities in the lungs and left-sided pleural effusion.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Patient outcome following use of steroids and anticoagulation.

References

    1. Southwick FS, Richardson EP Jr, Swartz MN.. Septic thrombosis of the dural venous sinuses. Medicine 1986;65:82–106. - PubMed
    1. DiNubile MJ. Septic thrombosis of the cavernous sinuses. Arch Neurol 1988;45:567–572. - PubMed
    1. Levine SR, Twyman RE, Gilman S.. The role of anticoagulation in cavernous sinus thrombosis. Neurology 1988;38:517–522. - PubMed
    1. Bhatia K, Jones NS.. Septic cavernous sinus thrombosis secondary to sinusitis: are anticoagulants indicated? A review of the literature. J Laryngol Otol 2002;116:667–676. - PubMed
    1. Sofferman RA. Cavernous sinus thrombophlebitis secondary to sphenoid sinusitis. Laryngoscope 1983;93:797–800. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources