[Long-term follow-up study of 93 patients with TIA]

Long-term outcome and recurrence rate were discussed in 96 patients of TIA out of 792 of cerebral ischemic disease who were admitted to our hospital during the past 11 years. They all had had attacks in the territory of internal carotid artery. Ninety-three patients could be interviewed finally. They included 63 males and 30 females and the age ranged from 36 to 88 years with an average of 60.5 years. The follow-up period ranged from 4 months to 8 years and 10 months with an average of 3 years and 1 month. Cerebral angiography was performed in 88 patients of them and revealed 16 patients of internal carotid artery stenosis, 12 patients of middle cerebral artery stenosis, 19 patients of severe cerebral arteriosclerosis and 41 patients of normal findings. CT scan was performed in 88 patients and showed abnormal findings in 12 patients. Eleven patients of them had lacunar infarction. Twenty-four patients of arterial stenosis (14 patients of internal carotid artery stenosis and 10 patients of middle cerebral artery stenosis) had surgical treatment of STA-MCA anastomosis (the superficial temporal artery-the middle cerebral artery) and carotid endarterectomy because they were considered to be cause of TIA. The other 69 patients were treated conservatively mainly with antiplatelet therapy. Four of 24 surgical treated patients developed another attack of cerebral ischemia thereafter, 2 patients had TIA of the contra-lateral hemisphere, one had cerebral infarction in the territory of posterior cerebral artery and the rest had lacunar infarction in the contra-lateral basal ganglia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)