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[Evidence-based medicine--a critical overview]
1HNO-Klinik Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf. leuwer@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Background:
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a strategy for the standardization of medical decision-making. The purpose of this review was to demonstrate the most important tools of EBM and to critically appraise them.
Methods:
The current literature concerning the subject is reviewed. A clinical example for the systematic use of EBM in diagnostic tests is explained in detail.
Results:
The risk of an increasing bureaucratic hindrance of medical procedures by EBM is weighed against the advantages of a systematic strategy for the valid assessment of medical information. According to the clinical example EBM proves to be a valuable tool in the quantitative estimation of residual risk and reliability of diagnostic tests in everyday clinical practice.
Conclusion:
The critical use of the systematic tools of EBM for clinical decision-making is recommended.