Table 1.
Demographics and baseline clinical characteristic.
| Characteristics | Groups | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| VNS group (n = 20) | Sham group (n = 20) | p-value | |
| Age (years) | 55 (11) | 57 (11) | 0.515a |
| Gender | |||
| male | 18 (90) | 15 (75) | 0.407b |
| female | 2 (10) | 5 (25) | |
| Stroke onset (months) | 3.20 (2.04) | 4.15 (1.60) | 0.074a |
| Hemiparetic side | |||
| left | 9 (45) | 8 (40) | 0.749c |
| right | 11 (55) | 12 (60) | |
| Stroke type | |||
| ischemic | 13 (65) | 14 (70) | 0.736c |
| hemorrhagic | 7 (35) | 6 (30) | |
| FMA-UE | 31 (9) | 30 (9) | 0.665d |
| ARAT | 16 (11) | 15 (11) | 0.968d |
| FTHUE | 5.85 (2.06) | 6.05 (2.76) | 0.945a |
| MBI | 72 (17) | 69 (15) | 0.543a |
| HR | 83 (11) | 79 (12) | 0.271a |
aWelch two sample t-test; bFisher’s exact test; cPearson’s Chi-squared test; dWilcoxon rank sum test. FMA-UE,Fugl-Meyer assessment-upper extremity; ARAT, Action Research Arm Test; FTHUE, Functional Test for the Hemiparetic Upper Extremity; MBI, Modified Barthel Index; HR, average heart rate.