Abstract
Evidence-based medicine was one of the most influential ideas of the 20th century and continues to shape the way we practice medicine, as reflected in the increased emphasis on clinical practice guidelines and performance measures. Urologists have been widely supportive of this development and the reluctance that does exist may in large part be attributed to a misinterpretation of its guiding principles. Until recently, few surgeonspecific resources to learn about evidence-based medicine existed. This chapter aims to help close this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of its core concepts as they relate to the clinical practice of urology. To do so, this chapter outlines a framework on how to formulate a focused clinical question, search for the best available evidence, critically appraise the evidence, and finally, apply the evidence in the setting of an individual patient and assess its impact. Particular emphasis is given in this chapter to the role of systematic reviews in clinical practice guidelines to guide clinical decisionmaking. Lastly, this chapter introduces the GRADE framework for rating the quality of evidence that is rapidly becoming the unified standard for systematic reviews and guidance documents.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Essentials and Updates in Urologic Oncology (2 Volume Set) |
| Publisher | Nova Science Publishers, Inc. |
| Pages | 19-42 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781620816493 |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2012 |