Yield of Systematic Transcranial Doppler in Patients with TIA

Some patients who present with transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) have a high early risk for stroke. Because early risk assessment provides an opportunity to prevent a subsequent stroke, various clinical scores and diagnostic studies are used to identify high-risk patients, including the ABCD² (JW Neurol Mar 27 2007).These investigators examined the value of very early transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) scanning beyond that of the ABCD² score in identifying TIA patients at high risk for recurrent vascular events and vascular death. The researchers performed TCD examinations of 1823 patients within 4 hours after admission to a 24-hour TIA clinic. Fewer than 8% of these scans could not be interpreted for technical reasons.

TCD scanning revea…