An Enhanced Forest Plot Macro Using SAS

A forest plot allows for a quick visualization of results across multiple subgroups. Additional information such as the actual values of the forest plot or the response rates in each treatment group is usually not included in a basic forest plot. Building upon forest plot code written by Sanjay Matange, a platform-independent macro was developed to allow the user to create a forest plot with the additional information mentioned above. Moreover, the plot can be enhanced with a bar plot of response rates in each treatment group and numerical labels of the values for the forest plot. It utilizes SG procedures available in SAS 9.3 (in particular, the HIGHLOWPLOT statement) and a standardized input dataset. The macro can accommodate the data based on the differences between two treatment groups or the odds/risk ratio. Readability has also been improved by adding reference bands to the graph.