Background Capsular warning syndrome (CWS) is defined as recurrent episodes of transient ischaemic attacks ≥3 times during a short time frame. There is no effective therapy to stop these attacks. We, herein, report our experience of using intravenous tirofiban to treat CWS.

Methods All patients with CWS in our hospital from January 2013 to September 2017 were reviewed. Patients in tirofiban group (T-group) were treated by intravenous tirofiban at 0.4 μg/kg/min for 30 min followed by 0.1–0.15 µg/kg/min infusion. Other treatments (non-T-group) included thrombolytic, oral antiplatelet agents and anticoagulant. Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), systematic bleeding, new attacks after treatment, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at 24 hours and modified Rankin Scales (mRSs) at 3 months were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis.

Results Of 23 patients qualified (15 in T-group, 8 in non-T-group), the duration of symptoms ranged from 2 to 100 min before treatments. After treatment, in T-group, four patients (26.7%) had recurrent attacks, and NIHSS scores were 0 in 11 patients (73.3%) at 24 hours. All patients reached a favourable outcome (mRS ≤2 at 3 months. In non-T-group, five patients (62.5%) had new attacks. NIHSS scores were 0 in two patients (25%) at 24 hours. At 3 months, seven patients (87.5%) reached a favourable outcome. Neither ICH nor systematic bleeding or thrombocytopaenia occurred in both groups of patients.

Conclusions Intravenous tirofiban can be a potentially effective and safe therapy to stop early symptomatic fluctuations and shorten the duration of functional deficits in patients with CWS.