Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-09-18DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110798
Oscar J Ponce, Neri Alvarez-Villalobos, Raj Shah, Khaled Mohammed, Rebecca L Morgan, Shahnaz Sultan, Yngve Falck-Ytter, Larry J Prokop, Philipp Dahm, Reem A Mustafa, Mohammad H Murad
{"title":"What does expert opinion in guidelines mean? a meta-epidemiological study.","authors":"Oscar J Ponce, Neri Alvarez-Villalobos, Raj Shah, Khaled Mohammed, Rebecca L Morgan, Shahnaz Sultan, Yngve Falck-Ytter, Larry J Prokop, Philipp Dahm, Reem A Mustafa, Mohammad H Murad","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110798","DOIUrl":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110798","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Guidelines often use the term expert opinion (EO) to qualify recommendations. We sought to identify the rationale and evidence type in EO recommendations. We searched multiple databases and websites for contemporary guidelines published in the last decade that used the term EO. We identified 1106 references, of which 69 guidelines were included (2390 recommendations, of which 907 were qualified as EO). A rationale for using EO designation was not provided in most (91%) recommendations. The most commonly cited evidence type was extrapolated from studies that did not answer guideline question (40% from randomised trials, 38% from observational studies and 2% from case reports or series). Evidence extrapolated from populations that were different from those addressed in the guideline was found in 2.5% of EO recommendations. We judged 5.6% of EO recommendations as ones that could have been potentially labelled as good practice statements. None of the EO recommendations were explicitly described as being solely dependent on the clinical experience of the panel. The use of EO as a level of evidence in guidelines remains common. A rationale for such use is not explicitly provided in most instances. Most of the time, evidence labelled as EO was indirect evidence and occasionally was very low-quality evidence derived from case series. We posit that the explicit description of evidence type, as opposed to using the label EO, may add clarity and transparency and may ultimately improve uptake of recommendations.</p>","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"164-169"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35421717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-08-03DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2016-110527
Udho Thadani
{"title":"Routine invasive strategies compared with conservative strategies do not lower the all-cause mortality in patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and unstable angina.","authors":"Udho Thadani","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2016-110527","DOIUrl":"10.1136/ebmed-2016-110527","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"190"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35290352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-08-01DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110720
Raine Sihvonen
{"title":"Meniscal resection may not benefit patients with traumatic meniscal tears.","authors":"Raine Sihvonen","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110720","DOIUrl":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110720","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"193"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35283839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-09-02DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110715
Muhammad Abdul Hadi, Gretl A McHugh, Philip G Conaghan
{"title":"Quality of reporting of harms in randomised controlled trials of pharmacological interventions for rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review.","authors":"Muhammad Abdul Hadi, Gretl A McHugh, Philip G Conaghan","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110715","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110715","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The quality of reporting of harms data in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) has been reported to be suboptimal. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has seen a massive growth in novel pharmacotherapies in the last decade.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of this study was to assess the quality of reporting of harms-related data in RCTs evaluating pharmacological interventions for RA according to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement on harms reporting extension.</p><p><strong>Study selection: </strong>RCTs published between January 2011 and August 2016 in the five highest impact factor journals in general medicine and two in rheumatology subject categories as per 2015 Journal Citation Reports were included. Reports of secondary, supplementary or exploratory analyses of RCTs and non-inferiority trials were excluded. Two reviewers independently extracted data using a structured, pilot-tested, 18-item questionnaire developed based on CONSORT harms extension recommendations.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>68 RCTs were included in the review. Out of a maximum harms reporting score of 18, the mean (SD) score was 8.51 (3.5) (range=0-15). More than half (56.5%) of the RCTs reported ≤50% of items and only three (4.3%) RCTs reported more than 70% (score ≥14) of the items. Multilinear regression analyses found that region of trial origin (p=0.01), sample size (p=0.001) and whether the study was a long-term extension of a trial or not (p=0.04) were independent predictors associated with higher total harms reporting score.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The adherence to CONSORT harms extension was poor in recently published RCTs of pharmacological interventions for RA. There is a need to improve quality of harms reporting in RCTs to allow transparent and balanced assessment of the benefit-risk ratio in clinical decision making.</p>","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"170-177"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110715","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35468597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-08-16DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110772
Zachary L Smith, Scott E Eggener
{"title":"In localised prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy was associated with more sexual dysfunction and urinary incontinence than radiation or active surveillance.","authors":"Zachary L Smith, Scott E Eggener","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110772","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110772","url":null,"abstract":"Commentary on: Barocas DA, Alvarez J, Resnick MJ, et al . Association between radiation therapy, surgery, or observation for localized prostate cancer and patient-reported outcomes after 3 years. JAMA 2017;317:1126–40.\u0000\u0000Widespread prostate cancer (PCa) screening has reduced PCa mortality, but also leads to overdiagnosis. After diagnosis, men are faced with a variety of management options that often have similar rates of cure but considerable risks to quality of life (QoL). The Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Surgery and Radiation (CEASAR) study was developed to examine patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) after treatment for localised PCa.1\u0000\u0000CEASAR is a prospective, longitudinal, population-based cohort study composed of patients from five Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries and the …","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"192"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110772","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35328650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-08-17DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110801
Joseph R Yancey, Kenneth W Lin
{"title":"Comparing levels of evidence between Choosing Wisely and Essential Evidence Plus.","authors":"Joseph R Yancey, Kenneth W Lin","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110801","url":null,"abstract":"Although there has been increasing emphasis on the use of evidence to guide medical practice, using primary research studies to answer questions at the point-of-care is too time-consuming for most primary care physicians. Instead, physicians generally rely on secondary sources of evidence-based medicine from trusted curators.\u0000\u0000The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation’s Choosing Wisely campaign is an example of a secondary source of evidence focused on common medical practices that clinicians and patients should rethink in light of poor evidence …","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"196"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110801","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35279445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-08-17DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110729
Daniel Caldeira
{"title":"Caffeine does not increase the arrhythmic burden in patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.","authors":"Daniel Caldeira","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110729","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110729","url":null,"abstract":"Commentary on: Zuchinali P, Souza GC, Pimentel M, et al. Short-term effects of high-dose caffeine on cardiac arrhythmias in patients with heart failure: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med 2016;176:1752–1759.\u0000\u0000Caffeine is a major component of some of the most widely consumed beverages, such as coffee. The role of caffeine in arrhythmias has always been controversial and the impact of caffeine on patients at high risk of arrhythmias it is not established.\u0000\u0000This was a single-centre double-blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing the effect of caffeinated coffee (capsules with 100 mg of caffeine given hourly with decaffeinated coffee until 500 mg) and decaffeinated coffee (placebo lactose capsules) in patients with chronic heart failure (HF), New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes between I and III and left ventricular (LV) …","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"182"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1136/ebmed-2017-110729","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35279448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-08-17DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110792
Gabriela M Hungerford, Lauren C Santucci, John R Weisz
{"title":"Parent-delivered CBT may reduce intervention cost, but questions arise about effectiveness.","authors":"Gabriela M Hungerford, Lauren C Santucci, John R Weisz","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110792","DOIUrl":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-110792","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35279450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-10-01Epub Date: 2017-07-22DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2016-110625
Julian Peto, Clare Gilham
{"title":"Longer screening intervals are recommended following a negative HPV test in primary cervical screening.","authors":"Julian Peto, Clare Gilham","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2016-110625","DOIUrl":"10.1136/ebmed-2016-110625","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"178"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35191231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evidence-Based MedicinePub Date : 2017-08-01Epub Date: 2017-07-18DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-j2973rep
Carl Heneghan, Kamal R Mahtani, Ben Goldacre, Fiona Godlee, Helen Macdonald, Duncan Jarvies
{"title":"Evidence based medicine manifesto for better healthcare: A response to systematic bias, wastage, error and fraud in research underpinning patient care.","authors":"Carl Heneghan, Kamal R Mahtani, Ben Goldacre, Fiona Godlee, Helen Macdonald, Duncan Jarvies","doi":"10.1136/ebmed-2017-j2973rep","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmed-2017-j2973rep","url":null,"abstract":"Informed decision-making requires clinicians and patients to identify and integrate relevant evidence. But with the questionable integrity of much of today's evidence, the lack of research answering questions that matter to patients and the lack of evidence to inform shared decision-making how are they expected to do this?\u0000\u0000Too many research studies are poorly designed or executed. Too much of the resulting research evidence is withheld or disseminated piecemeal.1 As the volume of clinical research activity has grown,2 the quality of evidence has often worsened,3 which has compromised the ability of all health professionals to provide affordable, effective, high value care for patients.\u0000\u0000The BMJ and the University of Oxford's Centre for Evidence Based Medicine have collaborated on Evidence Live, a yearly conference designed to ‘develop, disseminate and implement better evidence for better healthcare’. Through this work and other projects, we know of substantial problems but also progress and solutions spanning the breadth of the evidence ecosystem, from basic research to implementation in clinical practice.\u0000\u0000The EBM manifesto offered here grew from that awareness. It is an open invitation for others to contribute to and join a movement towards better evidence by providing a roadmap for how to achieve the listed priorities and to share the lessons from achievements already made. Its aim is to complement and unite existing efforts as well as create new ones.\u0000\u0000Serious systematic bias, error and waste of medical …","PeriodicalId":12182,"journal":{"name":"Evidence-Based Medicine","volume":"22 4","pages":"120-122"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1136/ebmed-2017-j2973rep","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"35179111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}