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.