Clinical characteristics of the four subcohorts
| 2020 pandemic cohort: spring (n=206) | 2019 reference cohort: spring (n=178) | P value | 2020 pandemic cohort: summer (n=177) | 2019 reference cohort: summer (n=161) | P value | |
| Demographic data | ||||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 69.9 (16.3) | 72.1 (15.1) | 0.18 | 69.9 (16.9) | 68.9 (16.2) | 0.67 |
| Sex, n (%) male | 99 (48) | 84 (47) | 0.87 | 96 (54) | 75 (47) | 0.16 |
| Baseline comorbidities, n (%) | ||||||
| Hypertension | 114 (55) | 107 (60) | 0.35 | 93 (53) | 94 (58) | 0.28 |
| Dyslipidemia | 85 (41) | 68 (38) | 0.54 | 68 (39) | 65 (40) | 0.71 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 47 (23) | 37 (21) | 0.63 | 36 (20) | 40 (25) | 0.32 |
| Atrial fibrillation or flutter | 22 (11) | 33 (19) | 0.03 | 24 (14) | 30 (19) | 0.20 |
| Prior ischemic stroke or TIA | 43 (21) | 34 (19) | 0.67 | 22 (13) | 27 (17) | 0.26 |
| Prior intracranial hemorrhage | 6 (3) | 2 (1) | 0.22 | 3 (2) | 2 (2) | 0.91 |
| Coronary or peripheral artery disease | 26 (13) | 29 (16) | 0.31 | 36 (20) | 27 (17) | 0.40 |
| Tobacco use | 36 (17) | 33 (19) | 0.79 | 30 (17) | 26 (16) | 0.84 |
| Prior antithrombotic treatment, n (%) | ||||||
| Antiplatelet | 65 (32) | 54 (30) | 0.79 | 53 (30) | 43 (27) | 0.51 |
| Direct anticoagulant | 18 (9) | 15 (8) | 0.91 | 25 (14) | 22 (14) | 0.90 |
| Vitamin K antagonist | 8 (4) | 3 (2) | 0.20 | 2 (1) | 3 (2) | 0.58 |
| Patient flow, n (%) | ||||||
| Direct evaluation | 157 (76) | 114 (64) | 0.01 | 125 (71) | 109 (68) | 0.56 |
| Transfer from another institution | 49 (24) | 64 (36) | 52 (29) | 52 (32) | ||
| ED assessment, median (IQR) | ||||||
| Pre-stroke mRS | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–2) | 0.74 | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–2) | 0.47 |
| NIHSS | 10 (4–19) | 12 (5–19) | 0.52 | 12 (5–19) | 10 (3–19) | 0.21 |
| ASPECTS | 10 (8–10) | 10 (8–10) | 0.36 | 10 (8–10) | 10 (9–10) | 0.19 |
| Diagnosis, n (%) | ||||||
| Ischemic stroke | 136 (66) | 124 (70) | 0.45* | 120 (68) | 116 (72) | 0.39* |
| Anterior circulation LVO | 61 (45) | 79 (64) | 76 (63) | 61 (53) | ||
| Posterior circulation LVO | 10 (7) | 4 (3) | 5 (4) | 9 (8) | ||
| Hemorrhagic stroke | 23 (11) | 22 (12) | 13 (7) | 11 (7) | ||
| Stroke mimic | 47 (23) | 32 (18) | 22 (25) | 34 (21) | ||
| Ischemic stroke treatment, n (%) | ||||||
| Thrombolysis | 54 (40) | 70 (56) | 0.01 | 55 (45) | 52 (45) | 0.88 |
| Thrombectomy | 54 (40) | 74 (60) | <0.01† | 73 (61) | 62 (53) | 0.25† |
Spring: March 30 to June 31.
Summer: July 1 to September 30.
*P value for the proportion of ischemic strokes among all patients.
†P value for the proportion of thrombectomies among ischemic stroke patients.
ASPECTS, Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score; ED, emergency department; LVO, large vessel occlusion; mRS, modified Rankin score; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; TIA, transient ischemic attack.