Spontaneous thrombosis of cerebral arteriovenous malformation post COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 is associated with endothelial dysfunction leading to prothrombotic phenomenon and systemic inflammation [1] and has been associated with intracranial arterial stroke and venous thrombosis. Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are vascular malformations composed of abnormal arteriovenous shunts at the AVM nidus, mainly fed by pial arteries that do not supply the brain tissue and draining into brain veins. The major clinical presentations are hemorrhage, followed by seizures, neurological deficits, and headaches [2]. Spontaneous resolution of AVM is a rare phenomenon and might result from feeding arteries or drainer veins occlusion, with many pathologic mechanisms proposed, including prothrombotic and hypercoagulable states. We present a case of spontaneous thrombosis of a cerebral AVM, due to progressive venous drainage thrombosis, in a COVID-19 patient.