Clinical Outcomes Forest Plot

Forest plot of relative risks with 95% CI for surgical complications.

Prompt

A forest plot of relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals for 7 surgical outcomes.

Outcomes and RR (95% CI):
- Mortality: 0.30 (0.07–1.50)
- Any complication: 0.90 (0.60–1.20)
- Unplanned ICU admission: 0.70 (0.30–1.40)
- Percutaneous drainage: 0.90 (0.60–1.60)
- Reoperation: 1.30 (0.74–2.05)
- Non-home discharge: 1.70 (0.90–3.00)
- Prolonged length of stay: 1.40 (0.90–2.00)

Layout:
- Outcomes labeled on the left axis, in the order above.
- Square markers sized roughly proportional to the (inverse) CI width.
- Horizontal whiskers for the 95% CI on a log-transformed x-axis from 0.05 to 5.
- Reference vertical dashed line at RR = 1.
- Right-side numerical column showing RR and CI as text.
- Bottom: x-axis label "Relative risk (95% CI)" with arrows: "<-- favours intervention" on the left and "favours control -->" on the right.

Style: clean medical-journal style, navy / dark gray palette, sans-serif, white background, no decorative elements.

Use in Generator

When to use

For meta-analysis summaries, retrospective cohort studies, and clinical-outcome figures.

Variations

Subgroup-stratified forest plot

Same outcomes but split by subgroup (e.g. age <60 vs ≥60). Add subgroup headers as bold rows separating the outcome rows. Show subgroup-level pooled estimates as diamonds.

Tips

Use a log-scale x-axis — RR values are inherently log-distributed.
Mark the reference line (RR=1) explicitly. Without it, the figure loses interpretability.
List the favoring direction at both ends of the x-axis with arrows.

FAQ

Can I show odds ratios instead of relative risks?

Yes — replace "Relative risk" with "Odds ratio" in the x-axis label and the right-side column. The visual layout is identical.