Baseline characteristics of patients aged>80 years according to assigned treatment
| Variables | With alteplase (n=8673) | Without alteplase (n=22 229) | P value | Absolute standard difference (%) |
| Female, n, (%) | 4570 (52.7) | 11 518 (51.8) | 0.17 | 1.8 |
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 84.0 (82.0–87.0) | 84.0 (82.0–87.0) | <0.001 | 11.4 |
| BMI, median (IQR), kg/m2 | 21.7 (19.2–24.2) | 22.8 (20.8–24.8) | <0.001 | 29.1 |
| Current smoking | 822 (9.5) | 1985 (8.9) | 0.13 | 1.9 |
| Drinking | 954 (11.0) | 2500 (11.2) | 0.54 | 0.8 |
| Prior stroke or TIA | 2340 (27.0) | 8329 (37.5) | <0.001 | 22.6 |
| Hypertension | 5555 (64.0) | 14 181 (63.8) | 0.68 | 0.5 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1305 (15.0) | 3574 (16.1) | 0.03 | 2.8 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 352 (4.1) | 1382 (6.2) | <0.001 | 9.8 |
| Myocardial infarction | 255 (2.9) | 574 (2.6) | 0.08 | 2.2 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1797 (20.7) | 3504 (15.8) | <0.001 | 12.9 |
| PAD | 116 (1.3) | 522 (2.3) | <0.001 | 7.5 |
| Insurance, n, (%) | 11.1 | |||
| NRCMS | 2473 (28.5) | 7342 (33.0) | ||
| Self-payment | 306 (3.5) | 654 (2.9) | ||
| UEBMI | 2859 (33.0) | 6961 (31.3) | ||
| URBMI | 2689 (31.0) | 6247 (28.1) | ||
| Other | 346 (4.0) | 1025 (4.6) | ||
| Family income per month, n, (%), ¥ | 7.5 | |||
| ≤3000 | 2091 (24.1) | 6005 (27.0) | ||
| >3000 | 1855 (21.4) | 4279 (19.2) | ||
| Unclear | 4727 (54.5) | 11 945 (53.7) | ||
| Prior mRS 0–2, n, (%) | 6870 (79.2) | 17 267 (77.7) | 0.003 | 3.7 |
| NIHSS Score at admission, median (IQR) | 9.0 (4.0–15.0) | 4.0 (2.0–10.0) | <0.001 | 60.0 |
| Stroke severity, n, (%) | <0.001 | 54.8 | ||
| NIHSS≤4 | 2177 (25.1) | 11 202 (50.4) | ||
| NIHSS≥5 to ≤15 | 4373 (50.4) | 7951 (35.8) | ||
| NIHSS>15 to ≤20 | 1210 (14.0) | 1664 (7.5) | ||
| NIHSS>20 | 913 (10.5) | 1412 (6.4) | ||
| Onset-to-door time (hour, median, IQR) | 1.5 (0.9–2.2) | 1.9 (1.0–3.0) | <0.001 | 29.7 |
| Onset to treatment time | NA | |||
| <3 hours | 6037 (69.6) | NA | ||
| ≥3 hours | 2636 (30.4) | NA | ||
| Door-to-needle time (min, median, IQR) | 44.2 (29.0–65.0) | NA | ||
| Time segments | NA | |||
| ≤60 min | 6154 (71.0) | NA | ||
| >60 min | 2519 (29.0) | NA | ||
| Alteplase dose, mg, median (IQR) | 0.9 (0.6–0.9) | NA | NA | |
| Medical history, n, (%) | ||||
| Anticoagulant agents | 257 (3.0) | 973 (4.4) | <0.001 | 7.5 |
| Antiplatelet agents | 1683 (18.0) | 5994 (23.9) | <0.001 | 14.6 |
| Antihypertension agents | 4291 (45.9) | 12 127 (48.4) | <0.001 | 5.1 |
| Glucose-lowering agents | 1022 (10.9) | 3153 (12.6) | <0.001 | 5.2 |
| Statins | 1442 (15.4) | 5228 (20.9) | <0.001 | 14.2 |
| Hospital characteristics, n, (%) | ||||
| Hospital grade | <0.001 | 10.8 | ||
| Secondary | 4143 (44.3) | 12 440 (49.7) | ||
| Tertiary | 5212 (55.7) | 12 610 (50.3) | ||
| Hospital region | <0.001 | 4.9 | ||
| Eastern | 3497 (37.4) | 9949 (39.7) | ||
| Central | 3303 (35.3) | 8615 (34.4) | ||
| Western | 2555 (27.3) | 6486 (25.9) |
BMI, body mass index; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; NRCMS, new rural cooperative medical scheme; PAD, peripheral arterial disease; TIA, transient ischaemic attack; UEBMI, urban employee basic medical insurance; URBMI, urban resident basic medical insurance.