Archive for 'Evidence Based Medicine' Category

Speak from the Evidence on Rounds

Look sharp on rounds by speaking from the evidence regarding your patient. EBOC delivers bite-sized factoids that summarize key findings in literature and keep your team up to date. Example: Sickle cell crisis Many patients are regular attenders (b) – contact their regular physician and ask how they are normally treated (d) 30% of patients [...]

How to Use Medical Literature to Solve Patient Problems

When using medical literature to solve patient problems and provide better care, consult this guide for appropriate use of an article dealing with therapeutic interventions and preventive interventions. Table 1: Users’ Guides for an Article About Therapy I. Are the results of the study valid? Primary Guides: Was the assignment of patients to treatments randomized? [...]

Holiday Medical Myths Debunked

BMJ 2008;337:a2769 You can cure a hangover A systematic review of randomised trials evaluating medical interventions for preventing or treating hangovers found no effective interventions in either traditional or complementary medicine. Suicides increase over the holidays there is no good scientific evidence to suggest a holiday peak in suicides… Studies of suicide rates from India [...]

Confronting Unscientific Beliefs

by Steven Novella: It is not the place of the physician to validate or refute personal religious beliefs. Non-religious ideological beliefs are the same. The point is that the physician cannot impose their value system onto their patient. Most experienced clinicians already know to avoid dismissive, insulting, or judgmental statements. In confronting unscientific medical beliefs, [...]