Table 2.

Baseline characteristics and early neurological outcome after 1:1 propensity score matching.

Characteristic	Argatroban (n = 50)	Control (n = 50)	p value
Age (years), mean (SD)	69.50 (10.56)	69.58 (12.01)	0.972
Male, n (%)	31 (62.0%)	36 (72.0%)	0.395
Admission SBP (mmHg), mean (SD)	158.60 (19.01)	158.90 (16.54)	0.933
Admission NIHSS score, median [IQR]	3.00 [2.00, 5.00]	3.50 [2.00, 4.00]	0.823
Fazekas grade, median [IQR]	1.00 [1.00, 2.00]	1.00 [1.00, 2.00]	0.876
Early neurological deterioration, n (%)	1 (2.0%)	12 (24.0%)	0.002

SBP, systolic blood pressure; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range. Early neurological deterioration was defined as an increase of ≥4 points in the NIHSS score at 72 h compared to admission. p values were calculated using the independent t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, Chi-square test, or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate.