Annals of emergency medicine
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It is now clear that transient ischemic attacks and strokes are different manifestations of the same disease and transient ischemic attacks are often warning signs of an impending stroke. Unfortunately, it is unclear when the next event will occur in an individual patient. It is critical for emergency physicians to know what the true risk of stroke is for patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with a transient ischemic attack and a normal neurologic examination result. We perform an evidence-based emergency medicine shortcut review of the short-term outcome of stroke among patients diagnosed in the ED with a transient ischemic attack. ⋯ According to studies assessing the short-term prognosis of patients diagnosed with transient ischemic attack in the ED, approximately 1 in 20 patients will have a stroke during the following 48 hours.