The interpretation of clinical trials

Format: 2-18 Don’t confuse “no evidence” with “no effect”

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Language/s: 3-5 How certain is the evidence?

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Resource Link: View the Text
Short Description:

Peter Greenberg’s 9-minute read on the interpretation of clinical trials.

Key Concepts addressed:

• Comparisons: are they fair and reliable?
• Greek
• 1-1 Treatments can harm
• 1-11 Explanations about how treatments work can be wrong
• 1-8 More is not necessarily better
• 1-4 Common practice is not always evidence-based
• 2-6 Peoples' outcomes should be assessed similarly
• 2-11 All fair comparisons and outcomes should be reported

Details

Summary

Clinical trials are the foundations of evidence-based treatments. Trials must be critically appraised to confirm the validity of conclusions. Further analysis is required to show if the results from the trial, where patients are carefully selected and followed up in detail, can be extrapolated to other patients and different settings. Data from additional sources including other trials, meta-analyses, practice guidelines, trusted opinions and clinical experiences modify prescribing practices.

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