Background: There have been few reports of typhoid fever (or salmonellosis) presenting with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. We present such a case to highlight the importance of recognizing an etiology for cerebral sinus thrombosis and to discuss the role of salmonella in thrombogenesis.
Patient: A 19-year-old man with a history of migraine presented with headache, nausea, vomiting, and fever, and was found to have a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis on magnetic resonance venography. He later developed profuse watery diarrhea and cultures grew salmonella species, consistent with typhoid fever.
Results: Treatment with antibiotics and oral anticoagulation led to resolution of his symptoms within 2 days and recanalization of the thrombosis was proven on magnetic resonance venography 6 months later.
Conclusions: The development of profuse diarrhea after thrombosis suggests a direct thrombogenic effect of salmonella independent of dehydration. Systemic infections should be considered in all patients with thrombosis to identify treatable causes.