Reporting Odds RAtio
When Odds ratio is above 2 , then it is simply put as XX times higher likelihood (XX=odds ratio). If odds ratio is 2.5, then there is a 2.5 times higher likelihood of having the outcome compared to the comparison group. From the above example, one might say “The odds of having a postoperative infection is 3.5 times higher if the patient experienced a complication during the surgery as opposed to not experiencing the complication”. Here the odds ratio would be 3.5. When the odds ratio is lower than 1 , the likelihood of having the outcome is XX% lower (XX% = 1-Odds ratio). For e.g. if odds ratio is 0.70, then there is a 30% lower likelihood of having the outcome. In the above example related to surgical infection, you might say “The odds of having a postoperative infection is 20% lower if the patient was given prophylactic antibiotics during the surgery as opposed to not getting the antibiotic”. Here the odds ratio would be 0.80. The odds ratio also shows the strength of