Fig. 1.

Flowchart for the enrollment process of the potentially eligible first-ever ischemic stroke patients with plasma YKL-40 measured. A total of 15,166 patients with complete clinical data at baseline were enrolled in CNSR-III. First, 3,905 patients were excluded because they were not included in biomarker substudy or blood samples were not sent to the central laboratory. Second, 3,123 patients were excluded because of the diagnosis of TIA or stroke history. Finally, 132 patients were excluded because of missing YKL-40 measurement. Therefore, 8,006 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke were included in this study for analysis. CNSR-III, the Third China National Stroke Registry; TIA, transient ischemic attack.