Serum neuron specific enolase may be a marker to predict the severity and outcome of cerebral venous thrombosis

The objective is to explore the effective of baseline serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) on predicting the severity and outcome in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). A total of 156 patients confirmed as CVT in Xuanwu Hospital were enrolled in this retrospective study from March 2011 through September 2016. The severity was evaluated with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS), intracranial pressure (ICP), and CVT-related complications; the outcome was evaluated by modified Rankin Scale (mRS); the relationship between baseline serum NSE and mRS was analyzed with receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), logistic regression analysis, and Kaplan–Meier curves. Baseline level of serum NSE was positively associated with baseline NIHSS (r = 0.322, p < 0.001). Among which, patients with high level of serum NSE were also noticed with cerebral venous infarction (p < 0.001), intracranial hemorrhage (p < 0.001), seizure (p = 0.035). Meanwhile, patients in NSE ≥ 15.05 ng/mL group vs. NSE < 15.05 ng/mL group had large mRS scores (≥ 3) at discharge (adjusted OR: 5.40, 95% CI 1.27–22.91; p = 0.022) and higher percentage of mRS scores ≥ 3 during 40 months of outpatient follow-up (log-rank p < 0.001). Baseline level of serum NSE is positively associated with the severity of CVT. Presumably NSE may be a potential predictor for the clinical outcome of CVT.