Fig. 6
Forest plot of VAS changes before and after treatment with MSCs. Three studies showed after treatment with MSCs, VAS score in SSc patients was significantly lower than pretreatment at 6 months (P < 0.05). Since significant heterogeneity was observed (I2 = 94%), a random-effects model was used. In the plane rectangular coordinate system, the forest plot takes a vertical invalid line (scale of abscissa is 0) as the center, describes the effect quantity and 95% CI of each study by using multiple line segments parallel to the horizontal axis, and describes the effect quantity and confidence interval of multiple studies by using a diamond. VAS, visual analogue scale; MSCs, mesenchymal stem cells; CI, confidence interval; SMD, standardized mean difference