Statistical Analysis
Continuous data are presented as median and IQR, the categorical
variables as values and percentages.
Comparisons between groups were
performed with the Mann–Whitney U-test, or the chi2 test, as
appropriate. Multivariate stepwise forward logistic regression analyses
was performed to isolate factors associated with the existence of LVA.
Only variables with significant p-values on univariate analysis were
included in the multivariate model. The correlation between variables
was assessed using a Spearman rank test. Statistical significance was
accepted at p value < 0.05. The analysis was performed
using Statistica software version 13.3 (StatSoft).