Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of BIOVASC and DUCASS study cohorts
| BIOVASC-Late pooled data (n=285) | DUCASS (n=77) | BIOVASC (n=208) | P value | |
| Demographics (n=285) | ||||
| Age | 69.8 (9.8) | 70.6 (10.3) | 69.5 (9.6) | 0.4 |
| Sex, male | 68.4 (195) | 68.8% (53) | 68.3 (142) | 0.93 |
| Ethnicity, Caucasian | 100 (285) | 100 (77) | 100 (208) | 1 |
| Index event (n=285) | ||||
| TIA | 39.6 (113) | 40.3 (31) | 39.4 (82) | 0.83 |
| Ischaemic stroke | 43.9 (125) | 45.4 (35) | 43.3 (90) | |
| Retinal embolism | 16.5 (47) | 14.3 (11) | 17.3 (36) | |
| Smoking status (n=284) | ||||
| Current | 40.8 (116) | 39 (30) | 41.6 (86) | 0.88 |
| Previous | 40.5 (115) | 42.9 (33) | 39.6 (82) | |
| Never | 18.7 (53) | 18.2 (14) | 18.8 (39) | |
| Other risk factors | ||||
| Hypertension (n=284) | 88 (250) | 90.9 (70) | 87 (180) | 0.36 |
| Diabetes mellitus (n=284) | 16.9 (48) | 19.5 (15) | 15.9 (33) | 0.48 |
| Hyperlipidaemia (n=285) | 78.6 (224) | 77.9 (60) | 78.8 (164) | 0.87 |
| Atrial fibrillation (n=284) | 14.4 (41) | 23.4 (18) | 11.1 (23) | 0.01 |
| Coronary heart disease (n=284) | 32 (91) | 35.1 (27) | 30.9 (64) | 0.51 |
| Peripheral arterial disease (n=284) | 9.5 (27) | 13 (10) | 8.2 (17) | 0.22 |
| Medications and therapeutic interventions | ||||
| Statin at index event (n=284) | 50 (142) | 45.5 (35) | 51.7 (107) | 0.35 |
| Statin at recruitment (n=284) | 92.6 (263) | 94.8 (73) | 91.8 (190) | 0.39 |
| High-intensity statin at recruitment (n=279) | 63.8 (178) | 63.9 (46) | 63.8 (132) | 0.99 |
| Antiplatelet at index event (n=284) | 46.8 (133) | 50.6 (39) | 45.4 (94) | 0.43 |
| Anti-platelet at recruitment (n=283) | 92.6 (262) | 85.5 (65) | 95.2 (197) | 0.01 |
| Anticoagulant at index event (n=284) | 5.6 (16) | 6.5 (5) | 5.3 (11) | 0.7 |
| Oral anticoagulant at recruitment (n=284) | 8.8 (25) | 16.9 (13) | 5.8 (12) | 0.003 |
| IV tpa (n=284) | 6.7 (19) | 3.9 (3) | 7.7 (16) | 0.25 |
| EVT (n=284) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 |
| Carotid endarterectomy (n=284) | 64.1 (182) | 53.3 (41) | 68.1 (141) | 0.02 |
| Carotid stenting (n=284) | 2.5 (7) | 1.3 (1) | 2.9 (6) | 0.44 |
| Stroke severity, median (IQR) | ||||
| NIHSS (n=281) | 0 (0–2) | 1 (0–2) | 0 (0–1) | <0.001 |
| Modified Rankin Scale (n=282) | 0 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) | 0 (0–1) | 0.002 |
| Stenosis severity (n=285) | ||||
| Moderate | 46.7 (133) | 61 (47) | 41.4 (86) | 0.8* |
| Severe | 43.5 (124) | 28.6 (22) | 49 (102) | |
| Near-occlusion | 9.8 (28) | 10.4 (8) | 9.6 (20) | |
Categorical data expressed as % (number). Continuous data expressed as mean (SD) unless otherwise stated. χ2 test is used for comparing differences in proportions. Two sample t-test is used or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for continuous data as appropriate. The X2 statistical test for trend was used for comparing proportions in ordered categorical data (>2 groups).
*P value for X2 statistical test for trend.
BIOVASC, Biomarkers Imaging Vulnerable Atherosclerosis in Symptomatic Carotid; DUCASS, Dublin Carotid Atherosclerosis Study; EVT, endovascular therapy; IV tpa, intravenous tissue plasminogen activator; NIHSS, National Institute for Health Stroke Scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.