Subgroup analysis on the duration of treatment
| Subgroup analysis | Number of studies (number of patients) | SMD, 95% CI | P interaction |
| Improvement in dependency | |||
| Short duration (≤1 month) | 17 (1980) | 0.92 (0.58 to 1.26) | 0.43 |
| Longer term duration (>1 month) | 10 (781) | 1.12 (0.75 to 1.5) | |
| Improvement in motor function | |||
| Short duration (≤1 month) | 20 (2541) | 0.71 (0.40 to 1.02) | 0.66 |
| Longer term duration (>1 month) | 6 (558) | 0.85 (0.33 to 1.36) | |
| Improvement in depression | |||
| Short duration (≤1 month) | 9 (809) | −1.19 (−1.62 to to 0.76) | 0.23 |
| Longer term duration (>1 month) | 6 (466) | −0.76 (−1.31 to 0.21) | |
| Improvement in swallowing function | |||
| Short duration (≤1 month) | 10 (801) | −0.66 (−1.02 to 0.30) | 0.60 |
| Longer term duration (>1 month) | 3 (273) | −0.53 (−0.86 to 0.20) | |
SMD, standard mean difference.