. 2014 Jul 3;9(7):e99682. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099682

Table 1. Summary information from direct comparisons of topical antibiotics without steroids for chronically discharging ears.

Comparison	No. studies	Direct evidenceOR (95% CI)	Variance of ln(OR)	I² (p-value)	τ²
AB: Quinolone antibiotic vs no treatment	2	0.09 (0.01, 0.51)	0.83	69% (0.07)	1.22
AD: Antiseptic vs no treatment	1	1.42 (0.65, 3.09)	0.16	NE	NE
BC: Non-quinolone antibiotic vs quinolone antibiotic	7	1.46 (0.80, 2.67)	0.10	48% (0.07)	0.31
BD: Antiseptic vs quinolone antibiotic	5	3.47 (1.71, 7.07)	0.13	66% (0.02)	0.39
CD: Antiseptic vs non-quinolone antibiotic	4	1.69 (0.59, 4.83)	0.28	67% (0.03)	0.75

Number of studies, the direct evidence from pairwise meta-analysis (OR, 95% confidence interval and variance) and information about heterogeneity (I² and heterogeneity variance τ²).

NE: Not estimable.