Transient Ischemic Attack: The Trend and Readmissions in the United States

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary event of neurological dysfunction. Patients with TIA may be discharged from the Emergency Department or following an observational admission since their symptoms have resolved. Some portion of these patients, however, return to the hospital due to various reasons. The aim of our study is to find the trend of TIA readmissions in the United States.

Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) database, we analyzed TIA discharges and TIA readmissions between 2009-2014 using the statistical z-test.

We recorded a total of 985,851 hospitalizations of patients discharged with TIA with a significant decrease from 2009 to 2014 (p<0.001). Patients had a mean age of 70.4 years and were mainly women (58.43%, P<0.01). HCUP reported 34,503 discharges due to TIA readmissions within 7 days (3.73%) and 91,261 discharges due to readmissions within 30 days (9.83%); both values showed a significant decrease during the study period. Summation of the TIA readmissions found that acute cerebrovascular disease was the leading cause of readmission, followed by another TIA in both seven and thirty days.

Between 2009-2014 the rate of TIA and TIA readmissions has significantly decreased in the United States, especially in the female gender. Acute cerebrovascular disease and another TIA have been the leading cause of hospital readmissions. With a better understanding of the risk factors associated with hospital readmissions, it is possible to reduce the impending burden of these patients on the healthcare system.