Univariate analysis of baseline characteristics, inhospital treatments, medical complications and discharge outcomes among patients with prestroke SSRI use
| SSRI use n=740 | No SSRI use n=3741 | P value | |
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 68.24 (14.52) | 68.58 (15.45) | 0.58 |
| Female gender (%) | 55.7 | 42.5 | <0.001 |
| Length of stay, days, mean (SD) | 6.34 (5.59) | 6.10 (6.74) | 0.37 |
| Location at stroke onset (%) | 0.01 | ||
| Not in a healthcare setting | 86.5 | 85.5 | |
| Acute care facility | 5.5 | 8.6 | |
| Chronic healthcare facility | 3.0 | 1.9 | |
| Outpatient setting | 0.4 | 0.6 | |
| After hospital arrival | 2.4 | 1.8 | |
| ND | 2.2 | 1.4 | |
| Race (%) | 0.002 | ||
| White | 87.4 | 83.7 | |
| African–American | 4.2 | 6.1 | |
| Asian | 1.8 | 4.1 | |
| Other | 6.6 | 6.0 | |
| Hispanic ethnicity (%) | 5.5 | 5.4 | 0.74 |
| Insurance (%) | 0.29 | ||
| Medicare | 55.7 | 54.5 | |
| Medicaid | 2.0 | 1.3 | |
| Private | 40.3 | 41.0 | |
| Self-pay | 1.9 | 2.9 | |
| Medical history (%) | |||
| No medical history | 8.2 | 11.1 | 0.02 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 19.5 | 20.7 | 0.46 |
| Coronary artery disease | 21.6 | 20.9 | 0.67 |
| Carotid stenosis | 3.1 | 3.7 | 0.44 |
| Depression | 4.7 | 0.5 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 28.8 | 23.2 | 0.001 |
| Drugs/Alcohol | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.05 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 46.9 | 42.9 | 0.05 |
| Family history of stroke | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.02 |
| Heart failure | 6.4 | 6.3 | 0.96 |
| Hypertension | 73.2 | 69.0 | 0.02 |
| Previous stroke | 21.5 | 12.6 | <0.001 |
| Previous transient ischaemic attack | 6.9 | 4.1 | 0.001 |
| Renal insufficiency | 3.8 | 3.4 | 0.56 |
| Smoker | 13.4 | 12.9 | 0.70 |
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Ambulate at admission (%) | 84.3 | 86.8 | 0.08 |
| Heart rate, bpm, mean (SD) | 79.02 (17.47) | 79.23 (17.57) | 0.80 |
| NIHSS, median (IQR) | 5 (2–10) | 4 (1–11) | 0.06 |
| Initial exam finding (%) | |||
| Weakness | 57.0 | 47.3 | <0.001 |
| Aphasia | 30.7 | 24.7 | 0.001 |
| Altered mental status | 12.4 | 12.2 | 0.82 |
| Other neurological symptoms | 15.1 | 14.1 | 0.48 |
| Admission laboratory data, mean (SD) | |||
| Cholesterol, mg/dL | 166.57 (47.73) | 165.33 (48.25) | 0.53 |
| Triglyceride, mg/dL | 127.94 (74.54) | 123.75 (77.44) | 0.19 |
| High-density lipoprotein, mg/dL | 45.75 (15.66) | 45.84 (15.19) | 0.89 |
| Low-density lipoprotein, mg/dL | 94.09 (35.59) | 94.54 (37.44) | 0.77 |
| Haemoglobin A1c, % | 6.21 (1.24) | 6.13 (1.23) | 0.15 |
| Fasting blood glucose, mg/dL | 132.57 (49.23) | 131.95 (50.31) | 0.79 |
| International normalised ratio | 1.20 (0.59) | 1.18 (0.64) | 0.65 |
| Treatments and complications (%) | |||
| Intravenous tPA at our hospital | 5.7 | 6.4 | 0.43 |
| Intravenous tPA outside our hospital | 18.4 | 15.0 | 0.02 |
| Intra-arterial therapy | 4.7 | 4.6 | 0.95 |
| Symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.12 |
| Pneumonia | 7.6 | 5.7 | <0.001 |
| Urinary tract infection | 7.2 | 7.8 | <0.001 |
| Ambulatory status at discharge | <0.001 | ||
| Ambulate independently | 40.4 | 50.5 | |
| Ambulate with assistance | 41.1 | 31.0 | |
| Unable to ambulate | 12.2 | 11.5 | |
| ND | 6.3 | 7.1 | |
| Discharge destination | <0.001 | ||
| Home | 37.7 | 48.4 | |
| Rehabilitation facility | 46.1 | 36.1 | |
| Skilled nursing facility | 6.6 | 4.1 | |
| Expired/Hospice | 7.2 | 8.8 | |
| Other | 2.4 | 2.6 | |
bpm, beats per minute; ND, not determined; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; tPA, tissue plasminogen activator.