Baseline characteristics of patients receiving different treatments with/without symptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis
| Characteristics | Negative sCAS | Positive sCAS | ||
| Clopidogrel -aspirin | Ticagrelor -aspirin | Clopidogrel -aspirin | Ticagrelor -aspirin | |
| Patients—no. | 2861 | 2862 | 90 | 107 |
| Median age (IQR)—year | 64.62 (56.81–70.98) | 64.80 (56.9–71.51) | 68.65 (61.8–75.29) | 68.83 (61.14–74.56) |
| Female sex—no. (%) | 974 (34.04) | 991 (34.63) | 16 (17.78) | 23 (21.50) |
| Han ethnicity—no. (%) | 2804 (98.01) | 2809 (98.15) | 89 (98.89) | 104 (97.20) |
| Blood pressure (mmHg, IQR) | ||||
| Systolic | 148.5 (135.5–161) | 148 (136–162) | 146 (131–160) | 147 (135–161) |
| Diastolic | 86 (80–95) | 86.5 (80-95) | 82 (75–94) | 84 (74.5–92) |
| BMI—kg/m2 | 24.34 (22.58–26.49) | 24.49 (22.68–26.67) | 24.69 (22.46–26.56) | 24.24 (22.86–25.95) |
| Medical history—no. (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 2118 (74.03) | 2115 (73.90) | 70 (77.78) | 82 (76.64) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 904 (31.60) | 933 (32.60) | 26 (28.89) | 33 (30.84) |
| Dyslipidaemia | 804 (28.10) | 796 (27.81) | 24 (26.67) | 27 (25.23) |
| Previous ischaemic stroke | 598 (20.90) | 589 (20.58) | 25 (27.78) | 33 (30.84) |
| Previous TIA | 39 (1.36) | 41 (1.43) | 2 (2.22) | 1 (0.93) |
| Myocardial infarction | 37 (1.29) | 45 (1.57) | 1 (1.11) | 2 (1.87) |
| Current smoking—no. (%) | 888 (31.04) | 883 (30.85) | 29 (32.22) | 44 (41.12) |
| CYP2C19 LOF allele carriers—no. (%) | ||||
| Intermediate metabolisers | 2236 (78.15) | 2221 (77.60) | 69 (76.67) | 84 (78.50) |
| Poor metabolisers | 625 (21.85) | 641 (22.40) | 21 (23.33) | 23 (21.50) |
| Time to randomisation after syptom onset—no. (%) | ||||
| <12 hours | 1140 (39.85) | 1182 (41.30) | 43 (47.78) | 49 (45.79) |
| ≥12 hours | 1721 (60.15) | 1680 (58.70) | 47 (52.22) | 58 (54.21) |
| Qualifying event—no. (%) | ||||
| Ischaemic stroke | 2302 (80.46) | 2306 (80.57) | 69 (76.67) | 74 (69.16) |
| TIA | 559 (19.54) | 556 (19.43) | 21 (23.33) | 33 (30.84) |
| NIHSS score for ischaemic stroke (IQR) | 2 (1-3) | 2 (1-3) | 2 (1-2) | 2 (1-3) |
| ABCD2 score for TIA (IQR)* | 4 (4-5) | 4 (4-5) | 5 (4-5) | 4 (4-5) |
| Previous antiplatelet therapy—no. (%)† | 323 (11.29) | 342 (11.95) | 17 (18.89) | 19 (17.76) |
| Previous lipid-lowering therapy—no. (%)† | 212 (7.41) | 224 (7.83) | 13 (14.44) | 14 (13.08) |
| Intracranial artery stenosis—no. (%) | 1122 (39.22) | 1132 (39.55) | 56 (62.22) | 75 (70.09) |
| Symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis—no. (%) | 757 (26.46) | 785 (27.43) | 41 (45.56) | 56 (52.34) |
*The ABCD2 score assesses the risk of stroke on the basis of age, blood pressure, clinical features, duration of TIA and the presence or absence of diabetes mellitus, with scores ranging from 0 to 7 and higher scores indicating greater risk.
†Medication within 1 month before symptom onset.
BMI, body mass index; ECAS, extracranial-artery stenosis; ICAS, intracranial-artery stenosis; LOF, loss-of-function; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.