Case mix and admission characteristics in relation to eligibility for, and if eligible the provision of, thrombolysis (n=11 262 unless stated otherwise)
| Per cent | Eligible patients | Per cent | Treated patients | p Value for treatment* | ||
| Age (if not over 80 years) | <55 | 23 | 181/804 | 14 | 26/181 | 0.004 |
| 55–64 | 24 | 312/1303 | 13 | 39/312 | ||
| 65–74 | 25 | 569/2299 | 8 | 47/569 | ||
| 75-80 | 25 | 543/2205 | 9 | 48/543 | ||
| Sex | Male | 18 | 937/5306 | 11 | 99/937 | 0.35 |
| Female | 11 | 668/5956 | 9 | 61/668 | ||
| Worst level of consciousness at time of maximum severity within first week after stroke (known for 11 261) | Unconscious (responds to pain only/no response) | 10 | 143/1476 | 10 | 14/143 | 0.82 |
| Semi-conscious (not fully rousable) | 12 | 104/859 | 10 | 10/104 | ||
| Drowsy | 15 | 287/1959 | 11 | 33/287 | ||
| Fully conscious | 15 | 1071/6967 | 10 | 103/1071 | ||
| Patient independent in everyday activities before stroke (eg, Barthel 19–20, Rankin <3) | Yes | 16 | 1388/8495 | 11 | 153/1388 | 0.002 Yes vs No |
| No | 8 | 182/2364 | 4 | 7/182 | ||
| Not known | 9 | 35/403 | 0 | 0/35 | ||
| Time of admission (known for 10 538 who were admitted after stroke) | Working hours (08:00–18:00) | 13 | 903/7070 | 14 | 126/903 | <0.001 WH vs OOH |
| Out of hours | 13 | 446/3468 | 5 | 24/446 | ||
| Already an inpatient | 44 | 256/587 | 4 | 10/256 | ||
| Ambulance clinicians' patient record on file and FAST available | Yes | 18 | 433/2474 | 21 | 90/433 | <0.001Yes vs no |
| No | 12 | 717/6212 | 7 | 51/717 | ||
| Not applicable | 18 | 455/2576 | 4 | 19/455 | ||
| Use of any lipid lowering treatment before admission | Yes | 17 | 728/4255 | 8 | 56/728 | 0.006 |
| No | 13 | 877/7007 | 12 | 104/877 | ||
| No of known comorbidities before admission (range 0–7 as listed below) | 0 | 14 | 298/2133 | 18 | 54/298 | <0.001 |
| 1 or 2 | 13 | 826/6155 | 9 | 74/826 | ||
| 3 or more | 16 | 481/2974 | 7 | 32/481 | ||
| Atrial fibrillation | Yes | 13 | 317/2462 | 7 | 23/317 | 0.08 |
| No | 15 | 1288/8800 | 11 | 137/1288 | ||
| Previous stroke/TIA | Yes | 13 | 439/3260 | 6 | 27/439 | 0.001 |
| No | 15 | 1166/8002 | 11 | 133/1166 | ||
| Diabetes | Yes | 16 | 314/1963 | 6 | 20/314 | 0.016 |
| No | 14 | 1291/9299 | 11 | 140/1291 | ||
| Hyperlipidaemia (total cholesterol >5 or LDL >3.0 mmol/l | Yes | 17 | 484/2806 | 9 | 44/484 | 0.47 |
| No | 13 | 1121/8456 | 10 | 116/1121 | ||
| Hypertension (systolic >140 or diastolic >85) | Yes | 14 | 893/6239 | 8 | 75/893 | 0.023 |
| No | 14 | 712/5023 | 12 | 85/712 | ||
| Myocardial infarction or angina | Yes | 17 | 360/2166 | 6 | 20/360 | 0.001 |
| No | 14 | 1245/9096 | 11 | 140/1245 | ||
| Valvular heart disease (aortic or mitral valves) | Yes | 17 | 67/395 | 6 | 4/67 | 0.40 |
| No | 14 | 1538/10867 | 10 | 156/1538 | ||
| No of dysphasia, dysarthria, motor deficits during the first 24 h | 0 | 10 | 142/1477 | 1 | 1/142 | <0.001 |
| 1 | 13 | 503/3938 | 4 | 22/503 | ||
| 2 | 17 | 672/4002 | 13 | 89/672 | ||
| 3 | 16 | 288/1845 | 17 | 48/288 | ||
| Dysphasia | Yes | 15 | 676/4425 | 14 | 97/676 | <0.001 Yes vs no |
| No | 15 | 829/5693 | 7 | 61/829 | ||
| Not known | 9 | 100/1144 | 2 | 2/100 | ||
| Dysarthria | Yes | 16 | 723/4384 | 13 | 96/723 | 0.001 Yes vs no |
| No | 14 | 750/5373 | 8 | 60/750 | ||
| Not known | 9 | 132/1505 | 3 | 4/132 | ||
| Motor deficits | Yes | 15 | 1312/8668 | 12 | 151/1312 | <0.001 Yes vs no |
| No | 12 | 249/2071 | 4 | 9/249 | ||
| Not known | 8 | 44/523 | – | 0/44 | ||
| Current smoker | Yes | 20 | 369/1850 | 10 | 37/369 | 0.99 |
| No | 13 | 1236/9412 | 10 | 123/1236 | ||
| Alcohol excess (no of units per week >21 for females, >28 males | Yes | 18 | 120/683 | 10 | 12/120 | 0.99 |
| No | 14 | 1485/10579 | 10 | 148/1485 |
↵* Fisher's exact test was used, except for where the Mann–Whitney test was used with age in years and where χ2 test was used for worst level of consciousness, No of comorbidiy groups and No of known symptoms limiting physical function.
FAST, Face, Arm, Speech Test; LDL, low density lipoprotein; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.