Table 1 Characteristics and risk factors of suspected stroke patients using EMS vs. non-EMS as mode of transportation to the hospital
From: Emergency medical services utilization in acute stroke in Qatar - an observational cohort study
Variables | Category | Use of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), n (%) | Total | Odds Ratio | 95% CI | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |  | Yes, n = 7734 (%) | No, n = 4158 (%) | N = 11,892 (%) |  |  |  |
Age (Median, IQR) (years) |  | 52 (43–63) | 52 (43–62) | 52 (43–62) |  |  | < 0.05 |
Age categorization (n, %) (years) | Below 24 | 63 (0.8) | 51 (1.2) | 114 (0.9) | 0.66 | 0.45–0.97 | < 0.05 |
|  | 24–44 | 2143 (27.7) | 1149 (27.6) | 3292 (27.7) | 1.00 | 0.92–1.09 | 0.92 |
|  | 44–65 | 4001 (51.7) | 2217 (53.3) | 6218 (52.3) | 0.93 | 0.86–1.01 | 0.10 |
|  | 65–80 | 1222 (15.8) | 612 (14.7) | 1834 (15.4) | 1.08 | 0.97–1.21 | 0.11 |
|  | 80 and above | 303 (3.9) | 129 (3.1) | 432 (3.6) | 1.27 | 1.02–1.58 | 0.023 |
Sex | Male | 5925 (76.6) | 3034 (72.9) | 8959 (75.3) | 1.21 | 1.11–1.32 | < 0.001 |
Population | Arabs | 2653 (34.3) | 1628 (39.2) | 4281 (35.9) | 0.81 | 0.75–0.87 | < 0.001 |
Subgroup | Qatari | 1323 (17.1) | 913 (21.9) | 2236 (18.8) | 0.73 | 0.66–0.80 | < 0.001 |
|  | Non-Arabs | 5081 (65.7) | 2530 (60.8) | 7611 (64.0) | 1.23 | 1.14–1.33 | < 0.001 |
Subgroup | Asian (SA + FE) | 4508 (58.3) | 2245 (53.9) | 6753 (56.8) | 1.19 | 1.10–1.28 | < 0.001 |
|  | African | 358 (4.6) | 178 (4.3) | 536 (4.5) | 1.08 | 0.89–1.31 | 0.38 |
|  | Caucasian | 205 (2.6) | 103 (2.5) | 308 (2.6) | 1.07 | 0.84–1.37 | 0.57 |
|  | Other | 10 (0.1) | 4 (0.09) | 14 (0.1) | 1.34 | 0.38–5.87 | 0.61 |
Diagnosis | Ischemic stroke | 3820 (49.4) | 1990 (47.8) | 5810 (48.6) | 1.06 | 0.98–1.14 | 0.11 |
|  | TIA | 675 (8.7) | 551 (13.3) | 1226 (10.3) | 0.62 | 0.55–0.70 | < 0.001 |
|  | ICH | 1072 (13.8) | 229 (5.5) | 1301 (10.9) | 2.76 | 2.37–3.21 | < 0.001 |
|  | Mimic | 2068 (26.7) | 1334 (32.1) | 3402 (28.6) | 0.77 | 0.71–0.84 | < 0.001 |
|  | CVST | 99 (1.3) | 54 (1.3) | 153 (1.3) | 0.98 | 0.69–1.40 | 0.93 |
BMI (Median, IQR) |  | 27.3 (24.4–30.6) | 27.3 (24.4–30.8) | 27.3 (24.4–30.7) |  |  | 0.22 |
HBA1C (Median, IQR) |  | 6.1 (5.5–8.1) | 6.2 (5.5–8.3) | 6.2 (5.5–8.2) |  |  | 0.13 |
Comorbids | Diabetes | 3686 (47.7) | 2009(48.3) | 5695 (47.8) | 0.97 | 0.90–1.05 | 0.49 |
|  | Hypertension | 5321 (68.8) | 2630 (63.2) | 7951 (66.8) | 1.28 | 1.18–1.38 | < 0.001 |
|  | Dyslipidemia | 3523 (45.6) | 1939 (46.6) | 5462 (45.9) | 0.95 | 0.88–1.03 | 0.25 |
|  | DVT | 24 (0.3) | 14 (0.3) | 38 (0.3) | 0.92 | 0.45–1.92 | 0.80 |
|  | CAD | 820 (10.6) | 423 (10.2) | 1243 (10.4) | 1.04 | 0.92–1.18 | 0.46 |
|  | AF | 512 (6.6) | 199 (4.8) | 711 (5.9) | 1.41 | 1.18–1.67 | < 0.001 |
|  | CHF | 20 (0.3) | 9 (0.2) | 29 (0.2) | 1.19 | 0.52–2.98 | 0.65 |
|  | CKD | 300 (3.9) | 131 (3.2) | 431 (3.6) | 1.24 | 1.00-1.54 | < 0.05 |
Prior stroke |  | 915 (11.8) | 482 (11.6) | 1397 (11.7) | 1.02 | 0.91–1.15 | 0.69 |
Prior TIA |  | 66 (0.9) | 47 (1.1) | 113 (0.9) | 0.75 | 0.51–1.12 | 0.13 |
TOAST criteria for AS (n = 5802, % of IS for each category) | Small vessel disease | 1691 (44.3) | 1117 (56.2) | 2808 (48.4) | 0.62 | 0.55–0.69 | < 0.001 |
|  | Large vessel disease | 902 (23.6) | 350 (17.6) | 1252 (21.6) | 1.44 | 1.26–1.66 | < 0.001 |
|  | Cardioembolic | 716 (18.7) | 290 (14.5) | 1006 (17.3) | 1.35 | 1.16–1.57 | < 0.001 |
|  | Stroke of determined origin | 381 (9.9) | 184 (9.2) | 565 (9.7) | 1.08 | 0.90–1.31 | 0.37 |
|  | Stroke of undetermined origin | 124 (3.2) | 47 (2.3) | 171 (2.9) | 1.38 | 0.97–1.99 | 0.058 |