Baseline characteristics of patients in the MR CLEAN trial according to mode of arrival at the emergency department of the intervention center
| Direct (n=281) | Transfer (n=219) | p Value | |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 67.0 (13.6) | 62.2 (13.6) | <0.01 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 156 (55.5) | 136 (62.1) | 0.16 |
| Medical history, n (%) | |||
| Atrial fibrillation | 77 (27.4) | 58 (26.5) | 0.90 |
| Hypertension | 135 (48.0) | 92 (42.0) | 0.21 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 71 (25.3) | 58 (26.5) | 0.84 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 41 (14.6) | 27 (12.3) | 0.55 |
| Previous ischemic stroke | 33 (11.7) | 21 (9.6) | 0.53 |
| Prestroke mRS, n (%) | 0.09 | ||
| 0 | 220 (78.3) | 184 (84.0) | |
| 1 | 27 (9.6) | 23 (10.5) | |
| 2 | 19 (6.8) | 6 (2.7) | |
| >2 | 15 (5.3) | 6 (2.7) | |
| NIHSS score, median (IQR) | 17 (14 to 22) | 18 (15 to 22) | 0.13 |
| Location of occlusion, n (%)* | 0.24 | ||
| Internal carotid artery | 72 (25.7) | 66 (30.1) | |
| M1 middle cerebral artery segment | 180 (64.3) | 139 (63.5) | |
| M2 middle cerebral artery segment | 27 (9.6) | 12 (5.5) | |
| A1 or A2 anterior cerebral artery segment | 1 (0.4) | 2 (0.9) | |
| Treatment with IV tPA, n (%) | 249 (88.6) | 196 (89.5) | 0.87 |
| Admission during off-hours, n (%)† | 141 (51.6) | 128 (63.4) | 0.01 |
| Allocation to IAT, n (%) | 132 (47.0) | 101 (46.1) | 0.92 |
| Use of general anesthesia, n (%)‡ | 39 (32.5) | 41 (42.3) | 0.18 |
*One missing value.
†25 missing values.
‡Only intra-arterial treated patients.
IAT, intra-arterial treatment; IV tPA, intravenous tissue plasminogen activator; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.