Table 2. Neurological and neuroimaging information at index CVE/SE.
| EC, <9 months (N=267) | DC, ≥9 months (N=151) | P value | |
| Clinical syndrome at presentation* | 0.082 | ||
| TACI | 40 (17.5) | 13 (10.6) | |
| PACI | 115 (50.2) | 65 (52.8) | |
| POCI | 50 (21.8) | 31 (25.2) | |
| Lacunar | 24 (10.5) | 14 (11.4) | |
| Neuroimaging localisation of ischaemic lesions* | 0.151 | ||
| Superficial | 167 (66.5) | 82 (60.3) | |
| Deep | 39 (15.5) | 24 (17.6) | |
| Both | 8 (3.2) | 1 (0.7) | |
| No imaging findings | 37 (14.7) | 29 (21.3) | |
| Anatomic localisation of ischaemic lesions* | 0.991 | ||
| MCA | 103 (49.3) | 57 (46.7) | |
| ACA | 13 (6.2) | 6 (4.9) | |
| PCA | 26 (12.4) | 16 (13.1) | |
| Vertebrobasilar – cerebellum | 30 (14.4) | 20 (16.4) | |
| Vertebrobasilar – brain stem | 6 (2.9) | 4 (3.3) | |
| Undetermined | 5 (2.4) | 4 (3.3) | |
| Contrast transcranial Doppler patterns | 0.234 | ||
| Micro-bubbles | 23 (17.4) | 10 (23.8) | |
| Shower | 56 (42.4) | 19 (45.2) | |
| Curtain | 53 (40.2) | 13 (31.0) | |
| Median NIHSS at admission* | 2 (1–4) | 1 (0–5) | 0.049 |
| Median mRS at discharge* | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.020 |
| Active neoplasia* | 7 (2.2) | 3 (1.8) | 0.768 |
| RoPE score | 7 (5–8) | 6 (5–7) | 0.077 |
| Anatomic localisation of previous episodes of stroke/TIA† | 0.452 | ||
| Cortical | 30 (11.2) | 21 (14.8) | |
| Lacunar | 26 (9.7) | 19 (13.4) |
*
Regarding the index event.
†
Apart from the index event.
ACA, anterior cerebral artery; BMI, body mass index; CVE/SE, cerebrovascular event or systemic embolism; DCdelayed closureECearly closure LACI, lacunar cerebral infarct; MCA, middle cerebral artery; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Score; PACI, partial anterior circulation infarct; PCA, posterior cerebral artery; POCI, posterior circulation infarction; proBNP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; RoPE, Risk of Paradoxical Embolism; TACI, total anterior circulation infarct; TIA, transient ischaemic attack; ULN, upper limit of normality