What's Going To Happen To Me, Doctor? Flashcards
RCTs are not appropriate to provide evidence for prognosis outcomes. What study designs are more better?
Cohort studies
Case-control studies
(Because they are observational)
Why is prognosis important? Give 4 reasons
Knowledge of prognosis can help diagnostic / treatment decisions
Important for patients to know the likely course of their disease
Different patients will value outcomes differently, and hence this must be taken into account during decision making
Doctors are not always accurate in their prognosis judgements
Define “prognosis”
An assessment of the future course and outcome of a patient’s disease
What is a “risk factor”?
They are patient characteristics associated with development of the condition in the first place
Define “prognostic factor”?
Characteristics used to predict outcomes more accurately
Give examples of three prognostic factors
Demographic (age, gender)
Disease-specific (tumour grade)
Co-morbidities (existing conditions)
What population of individuals are studied in a Cohort Study?
A group of individuals with a disease or who have been exposed to a risk factor…
Compared to a comparison group
What population of individuals are studied in a Case Controlled Study?
People with diseases are compared with controls without diseases, against risk factors exposed to them in the past