Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| London HASUs (n=7094) |
Rest of England (n=61 145) |
Difference | P value* | |
| Sex | 0.0001 | |||
| Male | 3719 (52%) | 30 536 (50%) | 2% | |
| Female | 3375 (48%) | 30 609 (50%) | −2% | |
| Age, years (mean (SD)) | 72 (15) | 75 (13) | −3 years | <0.0001 |
| Ethnic group | <0.0001 | |||
| White | 4332 (61%) | 56 221 (92%) | −31% | |
| Mixed | 72 (1%) | 141 (<1%) | <1% | |
| Black | 650 (9%) | 1272 (2%) | 7% | |
| Asian | 505 (7%) | 362 (<1%) | 6% | |
| Other | 526 (7%) | 358 (<1%) | 6% | |
| Not available | 1009 (14%) | 2791 (5%) | 9% | |
| Type of stroke | 0.0531 | |||
| Infarction | 6252 (88%) | 54 355 (89%) | −1% | |
| Primary intracerebral haemorrhage | 842 (12%) | 6790 (11%) | 1% | |
| Comorbidities prior to admission | ||||
| Congestive heart failure | 439 (6%) | 3204 (5%) | 1% | 0.0008 |
| Hypertension | 4284 (60%) | 32 447 (53%) | 7% | <0.0001 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1229 (17%) | 12 655 (21%) | −4% | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes | 1705 (24%) | 12 024 (20%) | 4% | <0.0001 |
| Stroke/TIA | 1688 (24%) | 16 752 (27%) | −4% | <0.0001 |
| mRS score before stroke | <0.0001 | |||
| Slight or no disability (0–2) | 5552 (78%) | 49 574 (81%) | −3% | |
| At least moderate disability (3-5) | 1542 (22%) | 11 571 (19%) | 3% | |
| Level of consciousness on arrival at the hospital† | 0.0263 | |||
| Alert | 5991 (84%) | 51 230 (84%) | 0% | |
| Not alert, but respond to minor stimulation | 663 (9%) | 5724 (9%) | 0% | |
| Not alert, requires repeated stimulation | 281 (4%) | 2438 (4%) | 0% | |
| Unresponsive | 159 (2%) | 1753 (3%) | −1% | |
| NIHSS on arrival at the hospital, score (median (IQR)) | 5 (2–11) | 4 (2–9) | 1 IQR | <0.0001 |
| Method of admission to the hospital | <0.0001 | |||
| Already inpatient | 173 (2%) | 3288 (5%) | −3% | |
| Ambulance | 5966 (84%) | 47 096 (77%) | 7% | |
| Walk-in | 955 (14%) | 10 761 (18%) | −4% | |
| Time from onset of stroke symptoms to admission | <0.0001 | |||
| <180 min | 2741 (39%) | 24 233 (40%) | −1% | |
| 180–359 min | 759 (11%) | 5871 (10%) | 1% | |
| ≥360 min | 1516 (21%) | 10 773 (18%) | 3% | |
| Time of onset not known | 2078 (29%) | 20 268 (33%) | 4% |
Figures are n(%) except for age, which is mean (SD), and NIHSS on arrival at the hospital, which is median (IQR). The sample with NIHSS scores on arrival was n=6571 in London HASUs and n=47 126 in the rest of England.
†Level of consciousness scores taken from admission NIHSS score (Question 1a).
*P value threshold adjusted for multiple testing is 0.0038.
HASU, hyperacute stroke units; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.