Table 1.
Comparisons of baseline factors, treatment when seeking health care, management and CTA measurements
| Conventional ≥ 50% stenosis (n = 266) | Near-occlusion without full collapse (n = 57) | Near-occlusion with full collapse (n = 42) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age mean (SD) | 73 (8) | 70 (10) | 70 (8) | 0.013* |
| Male sex n (%) | 187 (70) | 40 (70) | 28 (67) | 0.90† |
| Previous myocardial infarction n (%) | 52 (20) | 11 (19) | 6 (14) | 0.75† |
| Current angina n (%) | 42 (16) | 6 (11) | 6 (14) | 0.62† |
| Heart failure n (%) | 20 (8) | 3 (5) | 2 (5) | 0.67† |
| Current intermittent claudication n (%) | 16 (6) | 7 (12) | 2 (5) | 0.21† |
| Previous arterial Revascularization n (%) | 52 (20) | 9 (16) | 8 (19) | 0.82† |
| Atrial fibrillation n (%) | 25 (9) | 7 (12) | 3 (7) | 0.68† |
| Current smoking n (%) | 41 (15) | 15 (26) | 8 (9) | 0.15† |
| Diabetes n (%) | 66 (25) | 15 (26) | 7 (17) | 0.48† |
| Hypertensionan (%) | 241 (91) | 45 (79) | 37 (88) | 0.03† |
| Total Cholesterol mmol/l mean (SD) | 4.9 (1.3) | 5.3 (1.5) | 4.9 (1.3) | 0.26* |
| LDL Cholesterol mmol/l mean (SD) | 2.9 (1.2) | 3.3 (1.4) | 3.0 (1.3) | 0.17* |
| HDL Cholesterol mmol/l mean (SD) | 1.26 (0.72) | 1.09 (0.28) | 1.29 (0.26) | 0.21* |
| Medical treatment before seeking health care | ||||
| No AP/AC n (%) | 123 (49) | 27 (55) | 28 (70) | 0.05†,# |
| Single AP n (%) | 90 (36) | 17 (34) | 8 (20) | 0.14†,# |
| Dual AP n (%) | 19 (8) | 3 (6) | 3 (8) | 0.95†,# |
| AC n (%) | 18 (7) | 3 (6) | 1 (3) | 0.41†,# |
| Blood-pressure n (%) | 197 (79) | 34 (69) | 27 (68) | 0.14† |
| Lipid reducing n (%) | 138 (55) | 24 (49) | 14 (34) | 0.04† |
| Previous stroke n (%) | 38 (14) | 7 (12) | 8 (19) | 0.66† |
| Ipsilateral event < 14 days before presenting event n (%) | 54 (20) | 20 (35) | 2 (5) | 0.0012† |
| Presenting event: stroke n (%) | 132 (50) | 21 (37) | 27 (64) | 0.06† |
| Presenting event: TIA n (%) | 97 (37) | 23 (40) | 12 (29) | |
| Presenting event: retinal artery occlusion n (%) | 14 (5) | 2 (4) | 1 (2) | |
| Presenting event: amaurosis fugax n (%) | 23 (9) | 11 (19) | 2 (5) | |
| Sought health care at other hospital n (%) | 202 (76) | 44 (77) | 34 (81) | 0.78† |
| Sought health care on the day of presenting event n (%) | 201 (76) | 38 (67) | 33 (79) | 0.31† |
| Days between presenting event and CTA median (IQR) | 2 (0–4) | 4 (1–14) | 3 (0–9) | 0.03§ |
| Underwent revascularization n (%) | 171 (64) | 44 (77) | 10 (24) | < 0.001† |
| Days between presenting event and revascularization median (IQR) | 9 (6–15) | 12 (6–24) | 14 (9–24) | 0.11# |
| Stenosis diameter mm mean (SD) | 1.4 (0.5) | 0.7 (0.2) | 0.6 (0.3) | < 0.001* |
| Distal ICA diameter mm mean (SD) | 4.3 (0.6) | 2.9 (0.5) | 1.1 (0.8) | < 0.001* |
| ICA ratio mean (SD) | 0.99 (0.23) | 0.64 (0.10) | 0.30 (0.30) | < 0.001* |
| ICA/ECA ratio mean (SD) | 1.65 (0.41) | 1.09 (0.48) | 0.38 (0.29) | < 0.001* |
| Percent NASCET-stenosis mean (SD) | 68 (10) | Not applicable | Not applicable | – |
AC anti-coagulant, AP anti-platelet
*ANOVA
†2-sided χ2-test
#The overall difference comparing regimens as a 4-group parameter with degrees of stenosis was p = 0.29, 2-sided χ2-test
§Kruskal–Wallis
aFirst available blood-pressure > 140/90 or use of blood-pressure medication when seeking health care