Use of direct thrombin inhibitor for treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis.

Cerebral venous thrombosis is an uncommon condition with difficulties in diagnosis and treatment. There is limited study on the best treatment option for this disease. The mainstay of treatment remains systemic anticoagulation with a lengthy duration of warfarin, which has a troublesome unpredictable drug effect, various drug and food interactions, and an increased risk of bleeding. Recent availability of direct thrombin inhibitor provides an alternative option of systemic anticoagulation in various thromboembolism conditions. We report 2 cases of cerebral venous thrombosis treated with a direct thrombin inhibitor with good clinical and radiologic results.