Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics
| Bridging thrombolysis | No bridging thrombolysis | P value | |
| N (%) | 394 (55.2%) | 320 (44.8%) | – |
| Age, mean year (SD) | 74.5 (11.8) | 76.0 (12.0) | 0.097 |
| Women, n (%) | 217 (55.1%) | 181 (56.6) | 0.705 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| Arterial hypertension | 310 (78.7%) | 257 (80.3 %) | 0.642 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 84/393 (21.4%) | 88 (27.5%) | 0.065 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 129/392 (32.9) | 121/318 (38.1%) | 0.156 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 101/393 (25.7%) | 91/319 (28.5%) | 0.445 |
| Peripheral artery disease | 25/392 (6.4%) | 27/317 (8.5%) | 0.311 |
| Stroke/TIA | 74/392 (18.9%) | 83/319 (26%) | 0.023 |
| Current smoker | 56/383 (14.6%) | 43/315 (13.7%) | 0.745 |
| Atrial fibrillation* | 162/392 (41.3%) | 179/318 (56.3%) | <0.001 |
| Prestroke mRS | |||
| Median (IQR) | 0 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | <0.001 |
| 0–1 | 274/393 (69.7%) | 175/318 (55.0%) | <0.001 |
| 2–5 | 119/393 (30.3%) | 143/318 (45.0%) | <0.001 |
| NIHSS, median (IQR) | 15 (10–21) | 15 (9–20) | 0.063 |
| ASPECTS, median (IQR) | 9 (7–10) | 9 (8–10) | 0.358 |
| Occlusion site, n (%) | |||
| ICA | 14 (3.6%) | 24 (7.5%) | 0.028 |
| ICA plus MCA | 55 (14.0%) | 44 (13.8%) | >0.99 |
| Carotid T | 64 (16.2%) | 36 (11.3%) | 0.065 |
| MCA, M1 | 169 (42.9%) | 146 (45.6%) | 0.495 |
| MCA, M2 | 92 (23.4%) | 70 (21.9%) | 0.654 |
| Time window†, median (IQR) | 1:45 (1:20–2:45) | 6:38 (4:16–10:49) | <0.001 |
*Known or newly diagnosed.
†In patients in whom exact time of onset is known.
ASPECTS, Alberta Stroke Programme Early Computed Tomography Score; ICA, internal carotid artery; MCA, middle cerebral artery; M1–M2, segments of the MCA; mRS, modified Rankin scale score; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.