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Treatment of surgical patients is evidence-based
R Kingston1, M Barry, S Tierney
1Department of Surgery, Mid-Western Regional General Hospital, and the University of Limerick, Ireland.
Objectives:
To assess the type of evidence that supported our management of surgical patients.
Design:
Retrospective audit.
Setting:
Teaching hospital, Republic of Ireland.
Patients:
All 222 patients admitted by two surgical teams during one month. Patients admitted for diagnostic procedures were included if they were treated as a result.
Main Outcome Measures:
Diagnosis and treatment were established from the notes. Evidence for each intervention was then sought in MEDLINE 1986-1999, Best Evidence 1991-1999, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Issue 3, 1999, and graded into one of five categories: systematic review, meta-analysis, randomised controlled trial, prospective study, or retrospective study.
Results:
Treatment was supported by systematic review in 14, by meta-analysis in 12, by randomised controlled trial in 75, by prospective studies in 55, by retrospective studies in 58, and by no evidence in 8.
Conclusions:
Everyday surgical practice in our unit is supported by good quality evidence from recent publications.