Table 1.

General characteristics of the subjects.

Characteristics	Acupuncture group (n = 62)	Control group (n = 62)	P value
Age (years, mean ± SD)	65.3 ± 14.2	66.1 ± 14.3	0.76
Gender (men/women)	35/27	36/26	0.85
Previous medical history, N (%)
Hypertension	51 (82.3)	54 (87.1)	0.46
Diabetes	43 (69.4)	39 (62.9)	0.45
Hyperlipidemia	46 (74.2)	40 (64.5)	0.24
Atrial fibrillation	38 (61.3)	35 (56.5)	0.58
Etiology, N (%)
Cerebral infarction	43 (69.4)	42 (67.7)	0.85
Cerebral hemorrhage	17 (27.4)	19 (30.6)	0.69
Subarachnoid hemorrhage	2 (3.2)	1 (1.6)	0.56
Location of lesion, N (%)
Basal ganglia or thalamus	48 (77.4)	46 (74.2)	0.68
MCA territories	10 (16.1)	13 (21.0)	0.49
Brainstem	4 (6.5)	3 (4.8)	0.70
Side of lesion, N (%)
Right	35 (56.5)	37 (59.7)	0.72
Left	24 (38.7)	23 (37.1)	0.85
Both	3 (4.8)	2 (3.2)	0.65
Days from onset (mean ±SD)	9.3 ± 2.3	8.7 ± 2.5	0.59
The Dysphagia Outcome Severity Scale (DOSS)	1.8 (0.7)	1.6 (0.6)	0.71
The stage of dysphagia, N (%)
Oral stage	33 (53.2)	35 (56.5)	0.81
Pharyngeal phase	37 (59.6)	34 (54.8)	0.71
Esophageal phase	12 (19.4)	14 (22.6)	0.65

MCA: middle cerebral artery; SD: standard deviation.

P>0.05 vs. control group.