Table.

Patient Characteristics of Loading and Non-loading Groups.

	Loading group (n=34)	Non-loading group (n=61)	p value
Age, years	71.8±13.3	71.7±11.2	0.958
Female sex, no. (%)	13 (38)	29 (48)	0.399
Hypertension, no. (%)	22 (65)	50 (82)	0.081
Diabetes mellitus, no. (%)	9 (26)	23 (38)	0.366
Hyperlipidemia, no. (%)	16 (47)	29 (48)	1.000
Coronary heart disease, no. (%)	4 (12)	6 (10)	0.742
Cerebral infarction, no. (%)	5 (15)	6 (10)	0.515
Smoking history, no. (%)	6 (18)	14 (23)	0.609
Systolic blood pressure, mmHg	180.9±30.9	191.3±30.8	0.118
Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg	97.7±16.6	95.4±21.3	0.584
BW, kg	61.8±13.9	58.7±11.8	0.261
Glucose level, mg/dL	135.9±70.3	144.8±77.8	0.582
Hemoglobin A1c, %	6.1±1.6	6.4±1.7	0.315
Creatinine, mg/dL	1.07±1.43	0.85±0.60	0.283
Creatinine clearance, mL/min	72.6±37.4	73.7±31.2	0.879
Triglyceride, mg/dL	116.0±50.3	130.0±74.3	0.268
Total cholesterol, mg/dL	208.0±49.7	219.0±51.7	0.462
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, mg/dL	144.0±40.1	139.0±42.8	0.581
NIHSS score on admission	2.5 (2-4)	3 (2-4)	0.771
Infarct volume, mL	1.08±1.71	0.91±1.06	0.548
Treatment with antithrombotic drugs on admission	5 (18)	7 (11)	0.750
Aspirin	2	4
Clopidogrel	2	3
Cilostazol	1
Concomitant medication
Statin, no. (%)	27 (79)	39 (64)	0.163
Edaravone, no. (%)	30 (88)	55 (90)	0.742
Duration of hospitalization, days	17.5 (14.25-28)	19 (12-29)	0.855

Data are shown as mean±SD, median (interquartile range), or number (%). BA: basilar artery, BMI: body mass index, BW: body weight, DWI-ASPECTS: Alberta stroke program early computed tomography score on diffusion-weighted imaging, ICA: internal carotid artery, MCA: middle cerebral artery, NIHSS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, rt-PA: recombinant tissue plasminogen activator