Deciding when recently published evidence should alter practice can be daunting. This article in the Annals Clinical Decision Making series discusses the care of a patient with a common problem and recently published studies to illustrate an approach to weighing new evidence not yet considered by practice guidelines that conflicts with existing recommendations.
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- Investigate the clinical question posed in the case presentation (whether to use steroids for therapy in a patient with pneumonia). How do you go about finding relevant information? What variables do you use to assess whether each source of information is reliable and sufficiently updated?
- Do you use clinical guidelines to inform your care? How do you assess their quality? Read to help you think about these questions.
- How do you decide whether the results of a recently published study should alter your plans of care? What variables do you consider?
- How do you assess validity? Use the Figure. What is the difference between the internal and external validity of a study?
- What variables should be considered when deciding whether to apply the results of a study to the care of an individual patient?
Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the »Æ¹ÏµÎµÎapp (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.