Table 2. Characteristics of symptom onset at recruitment by presence or absence of acute ischemia on MRI head.
| Acute ischemia on MRI (N,%) | Total (N,%) | P-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | ||||
| Number of cases | n=61 | n=211 | n=272 | ||
| NIHSS | 0 | 56 (92) | 191 (91) | 247 (91) | 0.760 |
| 1-4 | 5 (8) | 20 (9) | 25 (9) | ||
| Missing | 0 | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | ||
| Symptom duration | <10 minutes | 3 (5) | 14 (7) | 17 (6) | |
| 10-<60 minutes | 10 (16) | 31 (15) | 41 (15) | 0.914* | |
| 60 mins - 24hrs | 19 (31) | 75 (36) | 94 (35) | ||
| Not resolved | 29 (48) | 89 (42) | 118 (43) | ||
| Symptom onset | Simultaneous (or one symptom) | 45 (74) | 111 (53) | 156 (57) | |
| Gradual symptoms development | 16 (26) | 85 (40) | 101 (37) | 0.017# | |
| Don’t know (patient uncertain) | 0 | 8 (4) | 8 (3) | ||
| Unknown | 0 | 7 (3) | 7 (3) | ||
| Focal | Any focal symptom | 58 (95) | 192 (91) | 250 (92) | 0.426 * |
| Unilateral tingling | 25 (41) | 77 (36) | 102 (38) | 0.523 | |
| Unilateral numbness | 32 (52) | 79 (37) | 111 (41) | 0.036 | |
| Unilateral weakness | 17 (28) | 53 (25) | 70 (26) | 0.665 | |
| Unilateral loss of vision | 1 (2) | 4 (2) | 5 (2) | 1.00* | |
| Unilateral positive visual | 0 | 21 (10) | 21 (8) | 0.006* | |
| Slurred speech | 25 (41) | 45 (21) | 70 (26) | 0.002 | |
| Speaking nonsense | 8 (13) | 42 (20) | 50 (18) | 0.228 | |
| Difficulty with writing or typing | 12 (20) | 26 (12) | 38 (14) | 0.145 | |
| Vertigo | 17 (28) | 90 (43) | 107 (39) | 0.037 | |
| Non focal | Any non-focal symptom | 43 (70) | 185 (88) | 228 (84) | 0.001 |
| Headache | 22 (36) | 94 (45) | 116 (43) | 0.238 | |
| Pain in arms or legs | 9 (15) | 25 (12) | 34 (13) | 0.546 | |
| Chest pain | 0 | 21 (10) | 21 (8) | 0.006* | |
| Nausea or sickness | 16 (26) | 94 (45) | 110 (40) | 0.010 | |
| Palpitations | 7 (11) | 48 (23) | 55 (20) | 0.054 | |
| Hot flush or sweating | 13 (21) | 71 (34) | 84 (31) | 0.066 | |
| Breathlessness | 4 (7) | 36 (17) | 40 (15) | 0.041 | |
| Loss of awareness | 5 (8) | 34 (16) | 39 (14) | 0.120 | |
| Tiredness or fatigue | 25 (41) | 122 (58) | 147 (54) | 0.020 | |
| Time of onset to MRI (days) | ≤2 days | 36 (60) | 121 (57) | 157 (58) | 0.811* |
| >2 to ≤5 days | 25 (40) | 90 (43) | 115 (42) | ||
| N episode in previous month | Unknown | 2 (3) | 6 (3) | 8 (3) | |
| 0 | 44 (72) | 161 (76) | 205 (75) | ||
| 1 | 8 (13) | 18 (9) | 26 (10) | ||
| 2 | 4 (7) | 10 (5) | 14 (5) | 0.553* | |
| >=3 | 3 (5) | 16 (8) | 19 (7) | ||
| ABCD2 Score | 0 | 1 (2) | 16 (8) | 17 (6) | |
| 1-2 | 21 (34) | 69 (33) | 90 (33) | 0.252 | |
| 3-4 | 27 (44) | 98 (46) | 125 (46) | ||
| ≥5 | 12 (20) | 28 (13) | 40 (15) | ||
*
p-value from Fishers exact test due to small expected counts.
#
Chi-squared excludes missing data