Fig. 1.

a Forest plot of the pooled prevalence and its 95% confidence interval (CI) for pulmonary embolism (PE) among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients showed that there was a relatively high prevalence of PE (8%, 95% CI 6–11%; χ² = 1259.68, P < 0.01; I² = 95.95%) in COVID-19 patients; b Forest plot of the pooled prevalence and its 95% CI for PE among the patients undergoing PE diagnosis showed that the pooled prevalence of PE in patients undergoing PE diagnosis was as high as 28% (95% CI 22–34%; χ² = 429.11, P < 0.01; I² = 93.71%); c The pooled prevalence of PE (19%, 95% CI 14–25%; χ² = 346.07, P < 0.01; I² = 92.49%) in COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) was significantly higher than (d) The pooled prevalence of PE (9%, 95% CI 6–13%; χ² = 379.37, P < 0.01; I² = 94.99%) in COVID-19 patients admitted to non-ICU