2.4 Statistical analysis
Analysis was conducted on a pooled population of 1842 patients identified with confirmed coronavirus infection from the six citations, using the comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) software version 3, Biostat Inc., Englewood, NJ, USA. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochrane Q and Higgin’s I2 test and publication bias was assessed by funnel plots. [1-9] Depending on the presence or degree of heterogeneity (<45% low, 45–75% moderate and > 75% high) and the study characteristics, a fixed or random effect model to assess the effect size was selected. Where relative risk or odds ratio were not reported odds ratio was calculated from the reported events using Medcalc statistical software, © 2020 MedCalc Software Ltd, Ostend, Belgium.