Quality not Quantity

Question 1

What is Evidence based medicine

Answer 1

use the best evidence in the scientific literature to provide the best care for an individual patient

Question 2

What are the three principles of evidence based medicine

Answer 2

• high quality health care rests on objective and clinical relevant information
• there is a hierarchy of evidence where some types are stronger than others
• scientific data alone is not a sufficient basis for making clinical decisions

Question 3

Define the number needed to treat

Answer 3

the number of patients who need to be treated n order for one person to benefit
ideal is 1 - everyone treated benefits
the larger the NNT the less the benefit

Question 4

Where can information about treatment alternatives or therapeutic effects involving common illness be found

Answer 4

systematic reviews/meta-analysis

Question 5

where can general recommendations be found

Answer 5

clinical practise guidelines

Question 6

What is a systematic review

Answer 6

attempts to identify, appraise and synthesise all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria(inclusion and exclusion) to answer a given research question

Question 7

what are the aims of a systematic review

Answer 7

to minimise bias in order to produce reliable findings that can be used to inform decision making

Question 8

potencial areas of bias

Answer 8

selection bias 
funding bias 
detection bias 
performance bias
measurement bias

Question 9

meta analysis

Answer 9

• results of the individual studies are combined to produce an overall statistic
• aims to provide a more precise estimate of the effects of an intervention and to reduce uncertainty

Question 10

What is the point estimate

Answer 10

usually the mean

- indicates the magnitude of the effect of the experimental intervention compared to the control intervention

Question 11

confidence interval

Answer 11

describes the uncertainty of this estimate, a range of values within which we can be reasonably sure the true effect actually lies
NARROW = HIGH CONFIDENCE
WIDE = LOWER CONFIDENCE

Question 12

NICE

Answer 12

national health institute for health and care excellence:
development and implementation of evidence based guidelines for appropriate clinical practise, public health and social care