Critical Analysis

Question 1

What is the hierarchy of evidence?

Answer 1

Question 2

What is critical appraisal?

Answer 2

Assessing and interpreting evidence in research for their validity, plausibility and usefulness to direct our decision making.
Diecisiete if it is useful and trustworthy
Identify strengths and weaknesses
Essential to evidence based medicine
Reduce harm and wasted resources from incorrect assumptions and conclus.

Question 3

What is recall bias?

Answer 3

Errors due to differences in accuracy/completeness of recall memory of past events and experiences
Retrospective - does interviewed patient remember well

Question 4

What is information bias?

Answer 4

Collecting, recording for handling data in a way to show a s certain conclusion leading to bias

Question 5

What is attrition bias?

Answer 5

Unequal loss of participants from study groups

Question 6

What is the Hawthorne effect?

Answer 6

Participants altering their behaviour in response to being observed

Question 7

What is confounding bias?

Answer 7

Suggests an association where none exists or masks a true one

Question 8

What is immortal time bias?

Answer 8

A distortion that modifies an association between an exposure and an outcome.
For example patient diagnosed wait two years then take a drug survive two more years, appears survived four years with drugs whilst reality only two.
Follow up includes a period of time where participants cannot experience the outcome and are essentially immortal.

Question 9

What are the two questions mainly asked by critical appraisal?

Answer 9

Is the study lilkey to be accurate? (Validity)
Can we use its findings? ( relevance)

Question 10

What is CASP Critical Appraisal Skills Programme?

Answer 10

Checklist used in critical appraisal to help signpost areas to consider while reading a paper
CASP checklists are specific to the type of papear being reviewed

Question 11

What is a hazard ratio?

Answer 11

The chance of an event occurring in the treatment cohort
The chance of an event occurring in the control cohort.

Question 12

What do different hazard rations mean?

Answer 12

HR = 1 lack of association between control and treatment cohort
HR more than 1 indicates an increased risk of an outcome in a treatment cohort
HR less than 1 indicates a decreased risk of an event occurring in the treatment cohort.

Question 13

What is critical writing?

Answer 13

Forming an argument in your writing
Making a judgement on the quality of something in order to understand its value.
Understand the implications and solutions.
Make conclusions and recommendations.