Characteristics of patients at baseline
| Characteristics | Overall (n=64) | Treatment | P value | |
| SAP (n=33) | Regular CAS (n=31) | |||
| Age, year, median (IQR) | 66±7.4 | 65±7.1 | 67±1.6 | 0.32 |
| Female, n (%) | 12 (18.8) | 7 (21.2) | 5 (16.1) | 0.60 |
| Risk factors, n (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 48 (75.0) | 23 (69.7) | 25 (80.6) | 0.31 |
| Diabetes | 23 (35.9) | 15 (45.5) | 8 (25.8) | 0.10 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 27 (42.2) | 13 (39.4) | 14 (45.2) | 0.64 |
| Previous ischaemic stroke | 19 (29.7) | 9 (27.3) | 10 (32.3) | 0.66 |
| Coronary heart disease | 12 (18.8) | 6 (18.2) | 6 (19.4) | 0.90 |
| Current or previous smoking | 35 (54.7) | 15 (45.4) | 20 (64.5) | 0.12 |
| Moderate to heavy alcohol | 24 (37.5) | 11 (33.3) | 13 (41.9) | 0.48 |
| Index events, n (%) | 0.07 | |||
| Ischaemic stroke | 44 (68.8) | 26 (78.8) | 18 (58.1) | |
| TIA | 20 (31.3) | 7 (21.2) | 13 (41.9) | |
| Duration from last symptom to randomisation, day, median (IQR) | 17 (5-35) | 19 (6–40) | 17 (5-34) | 0.77 |
| mRS, n (%) | 0.35 | |||
| 0 | 23 (35.9) | 9 (27.3) | 14 (45.2) | |
| 1 | 25 (39.1) | 14 (42.4) | 11 (35.5) | |
| 2 | 14 (21.9) | 8 (24.2) | 6 (19.3) | |
| 3 | 1 (1.6) | 1 (3.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| 4 | 1 (1.6) | 1 (3.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Systolic pressure, mm Hg, mean±SD | 138±21.0 | 137±20.0 | 140±22.0 | 0.65 |
| Mean systolic pressure during the operation, mm Hg, mean±SD | 129±12.8 | 130±14.1 | 128±11.5 | 0.51 |
| NIHSS, median (IQR) | 0 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | 0 (0–1) | 0.16 |
| Stenosis degree, %, mean±SD | 92.3±4.1 | 92.4±4.0 | 91.6±4.2 | 0.43 |
| Lesion length, mm | 15.9±7.6 | 14.9±8.5 | 17.0±6.6 | 0.28 |
| CT perfusion, n (%) | 49 (76.6) | 27 (81.8) | 22 (71.0) | 0.31 |
| Concentricity, n (%) | 0.43 | |||
| Concentric | 12 (18.8) | 8 (24.2) | 4 (12.9) | |
| Moderately eccentric | 29 (45.3) | 15 (45.5) | 14 (45.2) | |
| Extremely eccentric | 23 (35.9) | 10 (30.3) | 13 (41.9) | |
CAS, carotid artery stenting; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; SAP, staged angioplasty; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.