Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson (Dr. Rundell); Department of Family and Community Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus (Dr. Nair) kristenrundell@arizona.edu
The authors reported no potential conflict of interest relevant to this article.
Your patient with a focal neurologic deficit is rushed to the ED for diagnostic imaging. Which initial and long-term interventions can best reduce their risk of recurrent TIA and stroke?
› Immediately initiate brain imaging with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging when TIA is suspected, upon the patient’s arrival at the hospital. A
› Control blood pressure when a TIA is confirmed, to decrease the risk of recurrent stroke. A
› Initiate antiplatelet therapy, to decrease the risk of recurrent stroke. A
Strength of recommendation (SOR)
A Good-quality patient-oriented evidence B Inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence C Consensus, usual practice, opinion, disease-oriented evidence, case series
References
As many as 240,000 people per year in the United States experience a transient ischemic attack (TIA),1,2 which is now defined by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association as a “transient episode of neurological dysfunction caused by focal brain, spinal cord, or retinal ischemia, without acute infarction.”3 An older definition of TIA was based on the duration of the event (ie, resolution of symptoms at 24 hours); in the updated (2009) definition, the diagnostic criterion is the extent of focal tissue damage.3 Using the 2009 definition might mean a decrease in the number of patients who have a diagnosis of a TIA and an increase in the number who are determined to have had a stroke because an infarction is found on initial imaging.
Guided by the 2009 revised definition of a TIA, we review here the work-up and treatment of TIA, emphasizing immediacy of management to (1) prevent further tissue damage and (2) decrease the risk of a second event.
Copyright Scott Bodell
CASE
Martin L, 69 years old, retired, a nonsmoker, and with a history of peripheral arterial disease and hypercholesterolemia, presents to the emergency department (ED) of a rural hospital complaining of slurred speech and left-side facial numbness. He had an episode of facial numbness that lasted 30 minutes, then resolved, each of the 2 previous evenings; he did not seek care at those times. Now, in the ED, Mr. L is normotensive.
The patient’s medication history includes a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and melatonin to improve sleep. He reports having discontinued a statin because he could not tolerate its adverse effects.
What immediate steps are recommended for Mr. L’s care?
Common event callsfor quick action
A TIA is the strongest predictor of subsequent stroke and stroke-related death; the highest period of risk of these devastating outcomes is immediately following a TIA.1,2,4,5 It is essential, therefore, for the physician who sees a patient with a current complaint or recent history of suspected focal neurologic deficits to direct that patient to an ED for an accurate diagnosis and, as appropriate, early treatment for the best possible outcome.
A TIA is the strongest predictor of subsequent stroke and stroke-related death; the highest period of risk of these devastating outcomes is immediately following a TIA.
Imaging—preferably, diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI), the gold standard for diagnosing stroke (see “Diagnosis includes ruling out mimics”)2,3—should be performed as soon as the patient with a suspected TIA arrives in the ED. Imaging should not be held while waiting for a stroke to declare itself—ie, by allowing symptoms to persist for longer than 24 hours. 6
Copyright Scott Bodell