3.4 EBM - Anti-coagulants and Stroke

Question 1

When using evidence based medicine how does a physician formulate the question they are trying to discover the answer to? (what are the 4 parts).

Answer 1

P - Patients or problem of interest.

I - Intervention of interest.

C - Comparison of treatments.

O - Outcome of interest.

Needs to be something you can measure in order to get statistics and results.

Question 2

What is the worst piece of evidence, what is the best?

Answer 2

Worst - Expert opinion (asking someone their opinion).

Best - Systematic review of RCTS (Randomized Controlled Trials).

Question 3

When appraising the evidence you have discovered, what are the four questions that need to be asked?

Answer 3

Are the resulst valid?

What are the results?

Will the results help me in pt care?

How do my patient’s personal values and choices affect the decision?

Question 4

What are the five steps of EBM?

Answer 4

1) Convert info needed into answerable questions (make a PICO).
2) Track down best evidence to answer the question (w/ max efficiency).
3) Critically appraise the evidence for its validity and usefulness.
4) Integrate appraisal results with clinical experties and pt values.
5) Evaluate outcomes.