Demographic and baseline characteristics of the patients
| Groups | Loading dose group | Standard dose group | p |
| n | 149 | 148 | – |
| Age (year) | 64.0 (10.7) | 63.5 (11.0) | 0.706 |
| Male | 105 (70.5%) | 92 (62.2%) | 0.130 |
| Onset to admission time (hour)* | 17.3 (11.9) | 17.7 (12.9) | 0.771 |
| BMI (kg/m2)* | 23.9 (3.2) | 23.3 (3.5) | 0.143 |
| Systolic pressure (mm Hg)* | 151 (25.1) | 150 (22.6) | 0.900 |
| Fasting blood sugar (mmol/L)* | 7.0 (4.3) | 6.3 (2.8) | 0.157 |
| Hypertension history | 87 (58.4%) | 87 (58.8%) | 0.945 |
| Diabetes history | 27 (18.1%) | 27 (18.2%) | 0.978 |
| Coronary heart disease history | 8 (5.4%) | 7 (4.7%) | 0.801 |
| TIA history | 2 (1.3%) | 1 (0.7%) | >0.999 |
| Stroke history | 20 (13.4%) | 21 (14.2%) | 0.848 |
| Current or ex-smoker | 51 (73.9%) | 46 (75.4%) | 0.845 |
| Alcoholic | 42 (28.2%) | 35 (23.6%) | 0.372 |
| Baseline mRS (3–6)† | 101 (67.8%) | 97 (65.5%) | 0.682 |
| Baseline BI (0 to <75)† | 96 (64.4%) | 97 (65.5%) | 0.841 |
| Baseline NIHSS | 5.7 (3.3) | 6.2 (3.6) | 0.222 |
*Units.
†Scores.
BI, Barthel index; BMI, body mass index; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.