Why Practice EBM?
PROBLEM: Lack of familiarity with primary research can result in unnecessary clinical trials and possible harm to research subjects1
- FACT: 64 clinical trials involving the drug Aprotinin between 1987 and 2002 continuously found that the drug lessened bleeding during surgery, but only 20% of previous studies were cited by researchers.2 Because later researchers were unaware of research that came before, they may have denied a proven therapy to a control group.
- EBM SOLUTION: A careful and critical literature review should be carried out prior to engaging in clinical research.
- EBM RESOURCE: Medline (PubMed) searching with the results limited to Clinical Trials will provide a fairly complete representation of previously completed clinical research.
1. Brown D. Superfluous Medical Studies Called Into Question. Washington Post. 2006 Jan 2; Sect. A:6.
2. Fergusson D, Glass KC, Hutton B, Shapiro S. Randomized controlled trials of aprotinin in cardiac surgery: could clinical equipoise have stopped the bleeding?. Clin Trials. 2005;2(3):218-29; discussion 229-32.