英文摘要 |
Purposes Few variations can be made in forest plots drawn with most currently available software packages. In contrast, Microsoft Excel allows forest plots to be reproduced and modified in various ways. However, complex procedures are involved. In this research, the VBA and UserForm functions of Excel 2019 were adopted to design a program in order to create forest plots quickly. Methods Previous studies were found via PubMed and Chinese Electronic Periodical Services (CEPS) using topic keyword combinations including“Excel”AND“Meta-Analysis (or Meta Analysis)”and“Excel”AND“forest plot”. Forest plots were adopted from papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, and the British Medical Journal. Review Manager 5.3 was used for statistical analysis. Results Unfortunately, related studies are scarce. Most research mainly examined how to calculate the effect size and the 95% confidence interval (CI), but not how to draw forest plots. Although all figures found in journals can be reproduced using Microsoft Excel, the procedures required are extremely complex. Therefore, Excel VBA and Userform were utilized to design a drawing program. Markers in various colors and shapes and with different weights or even hollow markers can be created. Forest plots with subgroup lines in different colors can also be drawn. In addition, the x-axis can be modified, the outlier arrows can be added automatically, and log axes can be created. Conclusions Forest plots drawn with Excel can satisfy the requirements of international academic journals. Moreover, with the help of VBA, easily modifiable color forest plots of different types with transparent backgrounds can be created quickly within a few seconds. |