Results of an outpatient transient ischemic attack evaluation: a 90-day follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is common and precedes 15% of strokes. TIA should be managed as a time-sensitive illness to prevent a subsequent stroke. However, management of TIA is heterogeneous, with little consensus about its optimal assessment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the outcome of patients with TIA evaluated in the Emergency Department (ED) and managed as outpatients within a 90-day period after discharge. METHODS: All patients with symptoms of TIA admitted to the ED were eligible for inclusion. Patients were evaluated by an Emergency Physician who followed a decision algorithm used in the selection of patients for discharge. The main outcome variable was the occurrence of stroke during the 90 days after discharge from the ED. RESULTS: During a 1-year period, a total of 118 patients were evaluated for TIA in the ED, representing 1.4% of ED medical admissions: 56 (47.5%) were hospitalized and 62 (52.5%) were discharged and enrolled in the outpatient TIA management. Two (3.2%) of the discharged patients could not be contacted for follow-up. Among the patients managed as outpatients, one (1.7%) presented with an ischemic stroke and 3 (5%) experienced a subsequent TIA within a period of 90 days after discharge from the ED. The rate of stroke predicted from the ABCD2 score was 9.7% at 90 days. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that outpatient management of TIA, as described in our institution's guidelines, may be a safe and effective strategy, but further confirmatory studies should be performed.