EBM Flashcards
What is critical appraisal/evaluation?
the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its validity, results and clinical relevance
What do you evaluate in critical appraisal?
validity
results
clinical relevance
What does validity mean?
-how close to the truth (trustworthy) the study is
-OR how well it measures what it’s supposed to measure
(if potential sources of bias have been minimised, it improves the validity of the study)
What are the two parts of validity in critical appraisal?
- the internal validity: integrity of the experimental design (threated by biases)
- the external validity: appropriateness by which results can be applied to non-study patients or population
What question should we be asking with results?
What does the study show?
What are the results?
Are the results statically significant, and what is the size of the effect?
What does clinical relevance mean?
what the results means for a particular patient or context in which a decision is being made (= will the results help you and your patient?)
What is on the Critical Appraisal Checklist?
- Was the study original?
- Who was the study about?
- Was the study design sensible?
- Was bias avoided or minimised?
- Was assessment blind?
- Were preliminary statistical questions addressed?
What is in the hierarchy of evidence?
systematic reviews and meta-analysis randomised controlled trials cohort studies case-control studies cross-sectional surveys ecological studies case series and case reports ideas, editorials and opinions
What does the hierarchy of evidence do?
Gives an indication of the quality of evidence, reflecting reliability and validity
What are other systems for ranking the quality of evidence?
- GRADE (grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation)
- SIGN (scottish intercollegiate guidelines network
What is bias?
anything that influences the results of a study (or their interpretation) other than the experimental intervention
What are the different types of bias? (time wise)
pre-trila
during the trial
post trial
what are some potential sources of bias in pre-trial?
- selection bias: bias of selection or assignment of patients for a study that arises from study design rather than by chance, which occurs:
- subject studied are not representative of target population
- study of control groups are chosen so that they differ from each other by one or more farces that may affect the outcome of the study - definition bias
- bias of concepts
- bias due to concurrent disease
How can you minimise selection bias?
by random determination of who will be included in the study + including large sample of participants
what are some potential sources of bias during the trial?
1. information bias: errors in measuring exposure/intervention or outcome: leads to a systematic difference between groups participants in the study in terms of the information that is recorded (e.g. interviewers bias, recall bias, response bias) 2instruction bias 3. lead-time bias 4. attrition bias 4 Hawthorne effect