Baseline characteristics of different hs-CRP levels and infarction numbers in patients with minor ischaemic stroke or TIA
| Characteristics | Non-elevated hs-CRP levels with NAI | Non-elevated hs-CRP levels with SAI | Non-elevated hs-CRP levels with MAIs | Elevated hs-CRP levels with NAI | Elevated hs-CRP levels with SAI | Elevated hs-CRP levels with MAIs | P value |
| (n=142) | (n=273) | (n=113) | (n=54) | (n=141) | (n=84) | ||
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 63.2 (54.7–71.0) | 61.0 (53.7–69.2) | 63.1 (54.5–74.0) | 65.6 (57.3–74.6) | 64.4 (56.9–72.8) | 67.0 (57.2–74.7) | 0.007 |
| Male, n (%) | 83 (58.5) | 184 (67.4) | 73 (64.6) | 35 (64.8) | 90 (63.8) | 60 (71.4) | 0.42 |
| Medical history, n (%) | |||||||
| Ischaemic stroke | 23 (16.2) | 41 (15.0) | 21 (18.6) | 12 (22.2) | 29 (20.6) | 14 (16.7) | 0.67 |
| TIA | 8 (5.6) | 4 (1.5) | 2 (1.8) | 5 (9.3) | 3 (2.1) | 4 (4.8) | 0.02 |
| Myocardial infarction | 0 (0) | 5 (1.8) | 3 (2.7) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.7) | 5 (6.0) | 0.02 |
| Known atrial fibrillation or flutter | 4 (2.8) | 2 (0.7) | 6 (5.3) | 0 (0) | 4 (2.8) | 2 (2.4) | 0.09 |
| Angina | 4 (2.8) | 5 (1.8) | 3 (2.7) | 3 (5.6) | 2 (1.4) | 6 (7.1) | 0.11 |
| Valvular heart disease | 1 (0.7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.7) | 1 (1.2) | 0.55 |
| Hypertension | 92 (64.8) | 158 (57.9) | 68 (60.2) | 39 (72.2) | 108 (76.6) | 62 (73.8) | 0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 22 (15.5) | 55 (20.1) | 24 (21.2) | 8 (14.8) | 24 (17.0) | 22 (26.2) | 0.36 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 21 (14.8) | 34 (12.5) | 12 (10.6) | 10 (18.5) | 18 (12.8) | 10 (11.9) | 0.76 |
| Current or previous smoking, n (%) | 49 (34.5) | 121 (44.3) | 50 (44.2) | 21 (38.9) | 60 (42.6) | 42 (50.0) | 0.27 |
| Time to randomisation, n (%) | 0.007 | ||||||
| <12 hours | 80 (56.3) | 129 (47.3) | 66 (58.4) | 38 (70.4) | 63 (44.7) | 45 (53.6) | |
| ≥12 hours | 62 (43.7) | 144 (52.7) | 47 (41.6) | 16 (29.6) | 78 (55.3) | 39 (46.4) | |
| NIHSS on admission, median (IQR) | 0 (0–1) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–2) | 0 (0–2) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | <0.001 |
| ICAS, n (%) | 48 (33.8) | 93 (34.1) | 73 (64.6) | 22 (40.7) | 64 (45.4) | 58 (69.0) | <0.001 |
| Qualifying event, n (%) | <0.001 | ||||||
| TIA | 99 (69.7) | 27 (9.9) | 18 (15.9) | 36 (66.7) | 10 (7.1) | 12 (14.3) | |
| Minor stroke | 43 (30.3) | 246 (90.1) | 95 (84.1) | 18 (33.3) | 131 (92.9) | 72 (85.7) | |
| Group, n (%) | 0.32 | ||||||
| Aspirin only | 80 (56.3) | 130 (47.6) | 50 (44.2) | 25 (46.3) | 77 (54.6) | 42 (50.0) | |
| Clopidogrel+aspirin | 62 (43.7) | 143 (52.4) | 63 (55.8) | 29 (53.7) | 64 (45.4) | 42 (50.0) | |
| Medications, n (%) | |||||||
| Antihypertensive | 61 (43.3) | 121 (44.5) | 47 (41.6) | 25 (46.3) | 70 (50.0) | 35 (41.7) | 0.77 |
| Antidiabetic | 9 (6.4) | 44 (16.2) | 16 (14.2) | 7 (13.0) | 19 (13.6) | 15 (17.9) | 0.11 |
| Lipid lowering | 62 (44.0) | 139 (51.1) | 65 (57.5) | 28 (51.9) | 82 (58.6) | 47 (56.0) | 0.16 |
ICAS, intracranial arterial stenosis.hs-CRP, high-sensitive C-reactive protein; MAIs, multiple acute infarctions; NAI, no acute infarction; NIHSS, NIH Stroke Scale; SAI, single acute infarction; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.