Study finds outpatient management of select patients with transient ischemic attack at a nurse practitioner specialty clinic is as safe as hospital admission

A newly published quality improvement study from the UCLA School of Nursing could help ease hospital admissions while ensuring patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) still get the optimal care they need.

The study, Low-to-Moderate Risk Transient Ischemic Attack Patients Can Be Safely Discharged From the Emergency Department to a Nurse Practitioner–Led Clinic, published in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, evaluated the safety of a direct referral process for low-risk patients with TIA, a precursor to stroke, from the emergency department to an nurse practitioner-led clinic.

Authored by UCLA Doctor of Nursing Practice alumnus Fnu “Al” Alfandy, DNP, AGACNP-BC, ANP-BC, the study, Alfandy used as his DNP Scholarly Project, found that clinic patients had the same, if not better outcomes, as hospital patients. Along with this publication, the study received the UCLA Class of 2022 Best DNP Project Award and will be presented at the 2023 Annual American Association of Neuroscience Nurses Conference.

Read the entire study here.