Prominent cerebral veins on susceptibility‐weighted angiography in acute meningoencephalitis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We have commonly observed prominent cerebral veins on susceptibility‐weighted angiography (SWAN) in acute meningoencephalitis. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of these findings. METHODS: Cerebral veins on SWAN of 98 patients with acute meningoencephalitis diagnosed from February 2016 through October 2020 were classified into three groups according to the degree of venous prominence (mild, 23; moderate, 53; and prominent, 22). Clinical variables and laboratory findings were compared between these groups. The influence of variables on the prediction of prominent cerebral veins was measured by random forest (RF) and gradient boosting machine (GBM). RESULTS: As cerebral veins became more prominent, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose level decreased (69.61 ± 29.05 vs. 59.72 ± 22.57 vs. 48.36 ± 20.29 mg/dL, p = .01) and CSF protein level increased (100.73 ± 82.98 vs. 104.73 ± 70.99 vs. 159.12 ± 118.15 mg/dL, p = .03). The etiology of meningoencephalitis, neurological symptoms, and increased intracranial pressure (ICP) signs differed between groups (p < .05). RF and GBM demonstrated that CSF protein level was the variable with the highest power to predict the prominent cerebral vein (mean decrease in node impurity: 4.19, relative influence: 50.66). CONCLUSION: The presence of prominent cerebral veins on SWAN in acute meningoencephalitis was significantly associated with a low CSF glucose level and a high CSF protein level, as well as ICP. Thus, the visual grade of the cerebral veins on SWAN may be utilized for the management of patients with acute meningoencephalitis.