Comparison of characteristics of plaque ipsilateral versus contralateral to stroke
| Plaque causing any stenosis (N=375) | Plaque causing <50% stenosis (N=157) | Plaque causing ≥50% stenosis (N=218) | |||||||
| Ipsilateral plaque (n=211) | Contralateral plaque (n=164) | P value* | Ipsilateral plaque (n=68) | Contralateral plaque (n=89) | P value† | Ipsilateral plaque (n=143) | Contralateral plaque (n=75) | P value‡ | |
| Plaque morphology | |||||||||
| PB (%, median, IQR) | 79.13 (73.04–85.19) | 72.83 (61.51–83.43) | <0.001 | 68.55 (62.95–76.58) | 62.54 (52.18–68.40) | <0.001 | 82.37 (77.43–87.13) | 84.08 (80.16–86.42) | 0.037 |
| RI (median, IQR) | 1.06 (0.95–1.14) | 1.02 (0.97–1.06) | <0.001 | 1.15 (1.06–1.21) | 1.02 (0.98–1.06) | <0.001 | 1.04 (0.91–1.10) | 1.01 (0.93–1.05) | 0.087 |
| %LRNC (mean±SD) | 23.32±10.98 | 19.76±9.66 | 0.001 | 25.24±9.64 | 17.05±7.29 | <0.001 | 22.41±11.48 | 22.97±11.09 | 0.729 |
| Stenosis (%, median, IQR) | 68.31 (48.02–77.75) | 47.55 (37.02–69.10) | <0.001 | 45.83 (38.38–47.90) | 38.47 (30.49–44.06) | <0.001 | 73.72 (68.01–82.05) | 69.95 (64.18–76.86) | 0.002 |
| Plaque composition | |||||||||
| FCR (n, %) | 117 (55.5) | 75 (45.7) | 0.062 | 45 (66.2) | 38 (42.7) | 0.004 | 72 (50.3) | 37 (49.3) | 0.887 |
| DPS (n, %) | 129 (61.1) | 83 (50.6) | 0.041 | 50 (73.5) | 45 (50.6) | 0.004 | 79 (55.2) | 38 (50.7) | 0.520 |
| IPH (n, %) | 21 (9.9) | 9 (5.5) | 0.114 | 11 (16.2) | 7 (7.9) | 0.112 | 10 (7.0) | 2 (2.7) | 0.226§ |
| Complicated plaque (n, %) | 133 (63.0) | 83 (50.6) | 0.016 | 54 (79.4) | 45 (50.6) | < 0.001 | 79 (55.2) | 38 (50.7) | 0.520 |
Stenosis at the site of the thickest plaque proximal to thrombus was calculated.
*P value = comparison of plaque causing any stenosis ipsilateral versus contralateral to stroke
†P value = comparison of plaque causing <50% stenosis ipsilateral versus contralateral to stroke
‡P value = comparison of plaque causing ≥50% stenosis ipsilateral versus contralateral to stroke
§Fisher’s exact test
DPS, discontinuity of plaque surface; FCR, fibrous cap rupture; IPH, intraplaque haemorrhage; LRNC, lipid rich necrotic core; PB, plaque burden; RI, remodelling index.