General characteristics of the subjects
| Aspirin monotherapy | Clopidogrel–aspirin | Other combination | P value† | P1* | P2* | |
| N | 6391 | 5243 | 600 | |||
| Age, years (mean±SD) | 64.3±13.4 | 66.7±12.5 | 68.1±11.4 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.018 |
| Male, n (%) | 3938 (61.6) | 3281 (62.6) | 350 (58.3) | 0.107 | 0.228 | 0.085 |
| Onset-to-admission time, n (%) | 0.104 | 0.868 | 1.000 | |||
| Within 12 hours | 4710 (73.7) | 3953 (75.4) | 451 (75.2) | |||
| 12–24 hours | 1681 (26.3) | 1290 (24.6) | 149 (24.8) | |||
| Body mass index (mean±SD) | 23.9±3.3 | 23.9±3.2 | 24.1±3.5 | 0.543 | 0.398 | 0.344 |
| NIHSS score, median (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–4) | 2 (1–3) | <0.001 | 0.002 | 0.738 |
| 0, n (%) | 1349 (21.1) | 997 (19.0) | 107 (17.8) | |||
| 1 | 1363 (21.3) | 1075 (20.5) | 116 (19.3) | |||
| 2 | 1391 (21.8) | 1055 (20.1) | 116 (19.3) | |||
| 3 | 1009 (15.8) | 793 (15.1) | 114 (19.0) | |||
| 4 | 768 (12.0) | 730 (13.9) | 91 (15.2) | |||
| 5 | 511 (8.0) | 593 (11.3) | 56 (9.3) | |||
| TOAST, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 1.000 | |||
| LAA | 2332 (36.5) | 2605 (49.7) | 298 (49.7) | |||
| SVO | 2311 (36.2) | 1447 (27.6) | 175 (29.2) | |||
| OE | 204 (3.2) | 176 (3.4) | 16 (2.7) | |||
| UD | 1544 (24.2) | 1015 (19.4) | 111 (18.5) | |||
| History of TIA, n (%) | 94 (1.5) | 168 (3.2) | 34 (5.7) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.004 |
| History of stroke | 639 (10.0) | 1038 (19.8) | 253 (42.2) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| History of PAD | 14 (0.2) | 27 (0.5) | 6 (1.0) | 0.002 | 0.011 | 0.288 |
| History of CAD | 250 (3.9) | 490 (9.3) | 85 (14.2) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 3865 (60.5) | 3603 (68.7) | 452 (75.3) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.002 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1870 (29.3) | 1786 (34.1) | 269 (44.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 1761 (27.6) | 1820 (34.7) | 244 (40.7) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.008 |
| Smoking status | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.017 | |||
| Never smoker | 3641 (57.0) | 3093 (59.0) | 372 (62.0) | |||
| Ex-smoker, >5 years | 504 (7.9) | 480 (9.2) | 58 (9.7) | |||
| Recent smoker, within 5 years. | 321 (5.0) | 252 (4.8) | 41 (6.8) | |||
| Current smoker | 1925 (30.1) | 1418 (27.0) | 129 (21.5) | |||
| Atrial fibrillation | 41 (0.6) | 25 (0.5) | 8 (1.3) | 0.032 | 0.134 | 0.032 |
| Prior antiplatelet use | 893 (14.0) | 1742 (33.2) | 354 (59.0) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Prior antihypertensive use | 2625 (41.1) | 2727 (52.0) | 376 (62.7) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Prior statin use | 759 (11.9) | 1182 (22.5) | 215 (35.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Prior lipid-lowering agent use | 101 (1.6) | 120 (2.3) | 18 (3.0) | 0.004 | 0.020 | 0.554 |
| Prior antidiabetic use | 1314 (20.6) | 1370 (26.1) | 215 (35.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Multiple lesions | 515 (8.1) | 667 (12.7) | 78 (13.0) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 1.000 |
| LASO | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.155 | |||
| No stenosis | 4155 (65.0) | 2693 (51.4) | 295 (49.2) | |||
| Mild (<50%) | 525 (8.2) | 581 (11.1) | 81 (13.5) | |||
| Significant (≥50%) | 992 (15.5) | 1200 (22.9) | 151 (25.2) | |||
| Occlusion | 719 (11.3) | 769 (14.7) | 73 (12.2) | |||
| In-hospital treatment | ||||||
| Antidiabetics | 1413 (22.1) | 1360 (25.9) | 208 (34.7) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Antihypertensives | 2624 (41.1) | 2273 (43.4) | 311 (51.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Anti-lipid-lowering agents | 3713 (58.1) | 3520 (67.1) | 431 (71.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.040 |
| Statins | 5800 (90.8) | 4885 (93.2) | 538 (89.7) | <0.001 | 0.764 | 0.003 |
| Laboratory findings (mean±SD) | ||||||
| WBC count (×103/µL) | 8.0±2.8 | 8.0±2.8 | 8.0±3.3 | 0.777 | 0.587 | 0.616 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.93±0.85 | 1.03±0.98 | 1.12±1.17 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.059 |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL) | 13.9±1.9 | 13.8±1.8 | 13.4±1.8 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Platelet count (103/µl) | 233.8±65.9 | 236.3±68.9 | 229.9±71.9 | 0.027 | 0.236 | 0.039 |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 114.8±35.6 | 108.5±36.7 | 99.9±38.6 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 141.6±60.3 | 146.8±64.7 | 151.9±67.0 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.080 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 151.9±28.5 | 149.5±26.9 | 146.0±26.3 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.005 |
P1: aspirin monotherapy vs other combination treatment; P2: clopidogrel–aspirin vs other combination treatment.
*Adjusted p value by Pearson’s χ2 test and Fisher’s exact test with the Bonferroni adjustment method, the Dwass, Steel, Critchlow-Fligner multiple comparison method or Dunnett’s multiple comparison method.
†P value by ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test and χ2 test.
CAD, coronary artery disease; LAA, large artery atherosclerosis; LASO, large artery stenosis/occlusion; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; OE, other aetiology; PAD, peripheral artery diseases; SVO, small vessel occlusion; TIA, transient ischaemic attack; TOAST, Trials of Org 10 172 in Acute Stroke Treatment; UD, undetermined aetiology; WBC, white blood cells.