Hospital-Based Prospective Registration of Acute Transient Ischemic Attack and Noncerebrovascular Events in Korea

Background There have been no prospective studies on the clinical features, etiologies, and outcome of transient ischemic attack (TIA) in Korea. The aim of this study was to identify variables that can discriminate TIA from TIA mimics. Also we evaluated the characteristic of TIA patients according to the presence of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesion. Methods Patients were categorized into TIA and TIA mimics according to the result of an initial workup. TIA patients were divided according to the presence of DWI lesions. Baseline demographics, risk factors, laboratory results, initial blood pressure, imaging findings, recurrence rate of TIA or stroke at 3 months, and initial neurologic manifestations were prospectively collected and compared. Results We evaluated a total of 252 patients (212 with TIA and 40 with TIA mimics). Steno-occlusion of the relevant artery (odds ratio [OR], 22.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.03-246.73) and cardioembolic risk (OR, 32.15; 95% CI, 1.12-922.97) were significantly associated with TIA. Amnesia (OR, .001; 95% CI, .00-.05) and consciousness disturbance (OR, .003; 95% CI, .00-.06) favored TIA mimics. Perfusion defect (OR, 5.56; 95% CI, 2.90-10.68) and cardioembolic risk (OR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.14-6.32) were significantly associated with DWI lesion. Recurrence did not significantly differ according to the presence of a lesion on DWI (positive, 4.9%; negative, 7.8%; P = .41). Conclusion Steno-occlusive disease and cardioembolic risk were independently associated with TIA. Perfusion defect and cardioembolic risk predicted positive DWI lesion. The value of various imaging modalities for predicting TIA etiology needs further evaluation.