Table 2.
Patients’ characteristics
| Overall sample (n=81) | TIA (n=17) | Stroke (n=37) | Stroke with intervention (n=27) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic data | ||||
| Age (M ± SD) | 66.5 ± 13.9 | 66.4 ± 15.8 | 69.0 ± 13.0 | 63.2 ± 13.6 |
| Gender (female n (%)) | 31 (38.3) | 10 (58.8) | 15 (40.5) | 6 (22.2) |
| Clinical data | ||||
| NIHSS (M ± SD) at admission | 4.4 ± 6.1 | 0.5 ± 0.8 | 2.2 ± 2.0 | 9.9 ± 7.7 |
| Infarct size | ||||
| Lacunar, diameter ≤1.5cm (n (%)) | 24 (29.6) | - | 17 (45.9) | 7 (25.9) |
| Large, diameter >1.5cm (n (%)) | 40 (49.4) | - | 20 (54.1) | 20 (74.1) |
| None (n (%)) | 17 (21.0) | 17 (100) | - | - |
| Infarct location | ||||
| Middle cerebral artery (n (%)) | 35 (43.2) | - | 18 (48.7) | 17 (63.0) |
| Anterior cerebral artery (n (%)) | 2 (2.5) | - | 2 (5.4) | - |
| Posterior cerebral artery (n (%)) | 8 (9.9) | - | 7 (18.9) | 1 (3.7) |
| Vertebrobasilar territory (n (%)) | 10 (12.3) | - | 6 (16.2) | 4 (14.8) |
| Multiple locations (n (%)) | 9 (11.1) | - | 4 (10.8) | 5 (18.5) |
| None (n (%)) | 17 (21.0) | 17 (100) | - | - |
| Infarct etiology | ||||
| Large artery atherosclerosis (n (%)) | 18 (22.2) | 1 (5.9) | 10 (27.0) | 7 (26.0) |
| Artery to artery embolism$ (n (%)) | 31 (38.3) | 7 (41.1) | 16 (43.3) | 8 (29.6) |
| Cardioembolism§ (n (%)) | 15 (18.5) | 2 (11.8) | 5 (13.5) | 8 (29.6) |
| Small vessel occlusion (n (%)) | 4 (4.9) | 1 (5.9) | 3 (8.1) | - |
| Others (n (%)) | 5 (6.2) | 2 (11.8) | 1 (2.7) | 2 (7.4) |
| Unknown (n (%)) | 8 (9.9) | 4 (23.5) | 2 (5.4) | 2 (7.4) |
| Medical history | ||||
| Arterial hypertension (n (%)) | 67 (82.7) | 12 (70.6) | 33 (91.9) | 21 (77.8) |
| Diabetes mellitus (n (%)) | 32 (39.5) | 4 (23.5) | 21 (56.8) | 7 (25.9) |
| Nicotine# (n (%)) | 39 (48.1) | 7 (41.2) | 19 (51.4) | 13 (48.1) |
| Hyperlipidemia (n (%)) | 50 (61.7) | 9 (52.9) | 22 (59.5) | 19 (70.4) |
| Atrial fibrillation (n (%)) | 11 (13.6) | 1 (5.9) | 3 (8.1) | 7 (25.9) |
| Treatment | ||||
| Intravenous thrombolysis (n (%)) | - | - | 14 (51.9) | |
| Endovascular treatment (n (%)) | - | - | 7 (25.9) | |
| Combined approach (n (%)) | - | - | 6 (22.2) | |
| Time point of blood collection | ||||
| Onset to 1 collection (days M ± SD) | 1.1 (0.6) | 1.1 (0.7) | 1.3 (0.7) | 0.9 (0.3) |
| Onset to 2 collection (days M ± SD) | 3.5 (0.8) | 3.4 (0.7) | 3.7 (0.9) | 3.2 (0.8) |
#Including current and previous nicotine consumption
$Including relevant carotid macroangiopathy and carotid plaque load based on ultrasound evaluation without consecutive stenosis of less than 50% but with suspected artery to artery embolism
§Etiology was also rated as cardioembolism in the absence of atrial fibrillation in cases with relevant cardiac pathology, i.e., persistent foramen ovale