Evidence–Based Medicine – In Sherlock Holmes′ Footsteps

Jorgen Nordenstrom Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden

FOREWORD. INTRODUCTION. STEP 1 FORMULATE AN ANSWERABLE QUESTION. Information Sources. Choosing the Appropriate Database. Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analysis. Meta-Search Engines. Clinical Practice Guidelines. Critically Appraised Topics (CATs). Primary Information Sources. Library Resources. Other EBM Portals. STEP 2 INFORMATION SEARCH. Make a Wide Search with High Sensitivity. Principal Database Search Strategy. Limit Your Search Results/Increase Your Specificity. Use a Good Hit for Further Searches. STEP 3 REVIEW OF INFORMATION AND CRITICAL APPRAISAL. Quality Assessment of Information. Evaluation of the Scientific Quality. Quality of Evidence. STEP 4 EMPLOY THE RESULTS IN YOUR DAILY PRACTICE. Applicability. Balance between Benefit and Harm. Strength of Recommendation. Patient's Perceptions. Make a Recommendation. Communicating the Evidence to Your Patient. DEDUCTION, ANALYSIS AND MEDICINE. REFERENCES. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION SOURCES AND SEARCH ENGINES. INTERNET-BASED SPREADSHEETS. SHERLOCK HOLMES REFERENCES. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. RECOMMENDED EBM LITERATURE. GLOSSARY. INDEX