Baseline characteristics of included patients stratified into quintiles according to CO2CP
| Variable | Overall | Quintiles of CO2CP, mmol/L | P value | ||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | |||
| n | 9531 | 1914 (20.08) | 1956 (20.52) | 1874 (19.66) | 1869 (19.61) | 1918 (20.12) | |
| CO2CP, mmol/L | 24.9 (23.0–27.0) | 21.1 (20.0–22.0) | 23.3 (23.0–23.8) | 25.0 (24.5–25.2) | 26.4 (26.0–27.0) | 28.8 (28.0–30.0) | <0.0001 |
| Age, years | 62 (54–70) | 62 (53–70) | 62 (54–70) | 62 (54–69) | 62 (55–70) | 63 (56–70) | 0.0008 |
| Men, n (%) | 6556 (68.79) | 1347 (70.38) | 1308 (66.87) | 1319 (70.38) | 1278 (68.38) | 1304 (67.99) | 0.0738 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 24.51 (22.68–26.67) | 24.66 (22.86–26.71) | 24.62 (22.86–26.7) | 24.49 (22.68–26.67) | 24.57 (22.66–26.57) | 24.49 (22.49–26.64) | 0.1261 |
| Medical history, n (%) | |||||||
| Hypertension | 5958 (62.51) | 1170 (61.13) | 1249 (63.85) | 1190 (63.50) | 1149 (61.48) | 1200 (62.57) | 0.3187 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2243 (23.53) | 421 (22.00) | 456 (23.31) | 452 (24.12) | 459 (24.56) | 455 (23.72) | 0.3986 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 801 (8.4) | 133 (6.95) | 156 (7.98) | 160 (8.54) | 178 (9.52) | 174 (9.07) | 0.0416 |
| Stroke or TIA | 2190 (22.98) | 393 (20.53) | 447 (22.85) | 436 (23.27) | 434 (23.22) | 480 (25.03) | 0.0246 |
| Atrial fibrillation/flutter | 621 (6.52) | 152 (7.94) | 123 (6.29) | 125 (6.67) | 109 (5.83) | 112 (5.84) | 0.0497 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 66 (0.69) | 14 (0.73) | 9 (0.46) | 13 (0.69) | 16 (0.86) | 14 (0.73) | 0.6727 |
| Heart failure | 64 (4.81) | 14 (5.51) | 15 (5.66) | 12 (4.44) | 9 (3.46) | 14 (4.96) | 0.7691 |
| COPD | 81 (0.85) | 15 (0.78) | 13 (0.66) | 16 (0.85) | 12 (0.640 | 25 (1.30) | 0.1625 |
| Stroke type/subtype, n (%) | |||||||
| Ischaemic stroke | 8832 (92.67) | 1789 (93.47) | 1820 (93.05) | 1735 (92.58) | 1739 (93.04) | 1749 (91.19) | 0.0661 |
| Transient ischaemic attack | 699 (7.33) | 125 (6.53) | 136 (6.95) | 139 (7.42) | 130 (6.96) | 169 (8.81) | |
| TOAST, n (%) | |||||||
| Large-artery atherosclerosis | 2400 (25.18) | 520 (27.17) | 477 (24.39) | 486 (25.93) | 452 (24.18) | 465 (24.24) | 0.3994 |
| Cardioembolism | 544 (5.71) | 123 (6.43) | 112 (5.73) | 104 (5.55) | 99 (5.30) | 106 (5.53) | |
| Small-vessel occlusion | 1966 (20.63) | 355 (18.55) | 396 (20.25) | 391 (20.86) | 402 (21.51) | 422 (22.00) | |
| Other determined aetiology | 126 (1.32) | 26 (1.36) | 30 (1.53) | 22 (1.17) | 26 (1.39) | 22 (1.15) | |
| Undetermined aetiology | 4495 (47.16) | 890 (46.50) | 941 (48.11) | 871 (46.48) | 890 (47.62) | 903 (47.08) | |
| Current smoker, n (%) | 3089 (32.41) | 684 (35.74) | 634 (32.41) | 621 (33.14) | 577 (30.87) | 573 (29.87) | 0.0099 |
| Medication in hospital, n (%) | |||||||
| Cholesterol-lowering agents | 9182 (96.99) | 1844 (97.10) | 1893 (97.23) | 1803 (96.99) | 1791 (96.45) | 1851 (97.17) | 0.6374 |
| Antihypertensive agents | 4568 (48.25) | 959 (50.50) | 939 (48.23) | 874 (47.01) | 873 (47.01) | 923 (48.45) | 0.1875 |
| Hypoglycaemic agents | 2449 (25.87) | 476 (25.07) | 506 (25.99) | 489 (26.30) | 486 (26.17) | 492 (25.83) | 0.9206 |
| Antiplatelet agents | 9191 (97.08) | 1852 (97.53) | 1885 (96.82) | 1806 (97.15) | 1811 (97.52) | 1837 (96.43) | 0.2016 |
| Anticoagulant agents | 849 (8.97) | 211 (11.11) | 177 (9.09) | 159 (8.55) | 150 (8.08) | 152 (7.98) | 0.0043 |
| NIHSS score on admission | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–5) | 3 (1–6) | <0.0001 |
| Time from onset of symptoms to admission, hours | 15.00 (3.00–45.00) | 12.00 (3.00–32.00) | 14.00 (3.00–45.00) | 15.00 (3.00–45.00) | 15.00 (3.00–44.00) | 19.00 (4.00–48.00) | <0.0001 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 3.97 (3.31–4.74) | 3.92 (3.31–4.74) | 4.02 (3.31–4.77) | 3.95 (3.3–4.71) | 4 (3.31–4.74) | 3.95 (3.32–4.75) | 0.7846 |
| Low-density lipoprotein, mmol/L | 2.3 (1.71–2.97) | 2.27 (1.7–2.96) | 2.34 (1.72–3.01) | 2.28 (1.69–2.95) | 2.31 (1.71–2.97) | 2.3 (1.72–2.98) | 0.6915 |
| High-density lipoprotein, mmol/L | 0.93 (0.77–1.11) | 0.90 (0.77–1.08) | 0.93 (0.76–1.11) | 0.93 (0.76–1.1) | 0.93 (0.77–1.13) | 0.95 (0.78–1.13) | 0.0236 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/L | 1.38 (1.04–1.89) | 1.38 (1.04–1.91) | 1.40 (1.06–1.91) | 1.36 (1.00–1.88) | 1.41 (1.04–1.95) | 1.36 (1.04–1.84) | 0.2033 |
| Fasting blood glucose, mmol/L | 5.56 (4.90–6.99) | 5.53 (4.87–6.94) | 5.60 (4.94–7.10) | 5.56 (4.90–6.90) | 5.52 (4.90–7.02) | 5.53 (4.90–6.99) | 0.3506 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 93.31 (81.94–102.03) | 92.96 (80.93–102.93) | 93.32 (81.58–101.83) | 93.85 (81.95–102.55) | 94.11 (82.57–102.01) | 92.76 (82.72–101.01) | 0.4400 |
| hs-CRP, mg/L | 1.78 (0.81–4.71) | 2.05 (0.87–5.58) | 1.79 (0.82–4.78) | 1.75 (0.8–4.51) | 1.66 (0.81–4.43) | 1.64 (0.78–4.36) | 0.0020 |
| Medication on discharge, n (%) | |||||||
| Cholesterol-lowering agents | 8571 (92.06) | 1772 (93.07) | 1801 (92.26) | 1717 (91.82) | 1709 (91.59) | 1752 (91.49) | 0.3638 |
| Antihypertensive agents | 4840 (50.91) | 1004 (52.73) | 996 (51.02) | 934 (49.95) | 944 (50.59) | 962 (50.23) | 0.4544 |
| Hypoglycaemic agents | 2298 (24.17) | 460 (24.16) | 478 (24.49) | 449 (24.01) | 445 (23.85) | 466 (24.33) | 0.9918 |
| Antiplatelet agents | 8668 (91.17) | 1740 (91.93) | 1773 (90.83) | 1710 (91.44) | 1704 (91.32) | 1741 (90.91) | 0.9421 |
| Anticoagulant agents | 260 (2.73) | 64 (3.36) | 53 (2.72) | 47 (2.51) | 44 (2.36) | 52 (2.72) | 0.3853 |
CO2CP, carbon dioxide combining power; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C reactive protein; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack; TOAST, Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment.