Table 3.
Results of the meta-analysis, showing per theme the number of patients and studies and the percentage of patients indicating this theme as reason for their visit to the ED
| Theme | Number of studies | Number of patients in these studies | % patients | 95% CI (%) | I2 (%) | 95% PI (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health concerns | 22 | 5564 | 36 | 23 – 50 | 99.7 | 0 – 94 |
| Expecting investigations (radiological/blood tests) | 10 | 1316 | 35 | 20 – 51 | 98.1 | 1 – 85 |
| Advice of others | 9 | 346 | 19 | 6 – 37 | 97.9 | 0 – 80 |
| Convenience of ED | 21 | 2939 | 18 | 11 – 26 | 99.5 | 0 – 62 |
| Accessibility of GP | 17 | 1744 | 13 | 9 – 18 | 92.4 | 0 – 36 |
| Financial considerations | 6 | 575 | 11 | 1 – 30 | 99.1 | 0 – 74 |
| No confidence in GP | 5 | 93 | 5 | 1 – 15 | 90.9 | 0 – 40 |
CI Confidence Interval
I2: the percentage of the total variation across studies due to heterogeneity; it takes values from 0-100% with the value of 0% indicating no observed heterogeneity
PI Prediction interval: expected 95% range of outcomes, where the results of a new study would fall within