Table 1.
Patients' characteristics.
| Factors | Values (n = 232) |
|---|---|
| Removal of NGT | 181 (78%) |
| Age, years | 63.5 ± 10.7 |
| Sex (men), n (%) | 172 (74.1%) |
| Past medical history | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 169 (72.8%) |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 95 (40.9%) |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 144 (62.1%) |
| Venous thrombosis, n (%) | 55 (23.7%) |
| Coronary heart disease, n (%) | 51 (22.0%) |
| Onset admission interval (OAI), days | 28.8 ± 15.2 |
| Stroke laterality (left), n (%) | 122 (52.6%) |
| Stroke location | |
| Cortical branch of MCA | 49 (21.1%) |
| Deep perforating branch of MCA | 93 (40.1%) |
| MCA trunk | 90 (38.8%) |
| Stroke etiology | |
| Large-artery atherosclerosis | 149 (64.2%) |
| Cardioembolic | 55 (23.7%) |
| Small-vessel occlusion | 28 (12.1%) |
| Intubated or tracheostomy, n (%) | 17 (7.3%) |
| Stroke severity (NIHSS) at admission | 11.2 ± 4.6 |
| FMM (admission) | 24.8 ± 22.9 |
| Pneumonia during rehabilitation, n (%) | 47 (20.3%) |
| Stroke outcome after 1 month | |
| FMM (after 1 month) | 45.2 ± 25.2 |
| NIHSS score (after 1 month) | 5.4 ± 2.2 |
NGT, nasogastric tube; MCA, middle cerebral artery; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale; FMM, Fugl-Meyer assessment motor score.