Risk of stroke after emergency department visits for neurologic complaints

Marc B Rosenman; Elissa Oh; Christopher T Richards; Scott Mendelson; Julia Lee; Jane L Holl; Andrew M Naidech; Shyam Prabhakaran

doi:10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000673

Risk of stroke after emergency department visits for neurologic complaints

Neurol Clin Pract. 2020 Apr;10(2):106-114. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000673.

Authors

Marc B Rosenman¹, Elissa Oh¹, Christopher T Richards¹, Scott Mendelson¹, Julia Lee¹, Jane L Holl¹, Andrew M Naidech¹, Shyam Prabhakaran¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Pediatrics (MRB, JLH), Northwestern University and Lurie Children's Hospital; Center for Healthcare Studies (EO, CTR, SM, JLH, AMN); Department of Emergency Medicine (CTR); Department of Neurology (SM, AMN), Department of Preventive Medicine (JL), Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; and Department of Neurology (SP), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the risk of subsequent stroke among older patients discharged from an emergency department (ED) without a diagnosis of TIA or stroke.

Methods: Using electronic health record data from a large urban, university hospital and a community-based hospital, we analyzed patients aged 60-89 years discharged to home from the ED without an International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th or 10th Revision diagnosis of TIA or stroke. Based on the presence/absence of a head CT and the presence/absence of a chief complaint suggestive of TIA or stroke ("symptoms") during the index ED visit, we created 4 mutually exclusive groups (group 1, reference: head CT no, symptoms no; group 2: head CT no, symptoms yes; group 3: head CT yes, symptoms no; and group 4: head CT yes, symptoms yes). We calculated rates of stroke in the 30, 90, and 365 days after the index visit and used multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for subsequent stroke.

Results: Among 35,622 patients (mean age 70 years, 59% women, and 16% African American), unadjusted rates of stroke in 365 days were as follows: group 4: 2.5%; group 3: 1.1%; group 2: 0.69%; and group 1: 0.54%. The adjusted OR for stroke was 3.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.61-6.76) in group 4, 1.56 (95% CI, 1.16-2.09) in group 3, and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.22-1.67) in group 2.

Conclusions: Among patients discharged from the ED without a diagnosis of TIA or stroke, the occurrence of a head CT and/or specific neurologic symptoms established a clinically meaningful risk gradient for subsequent stroke.