[Evidence-based medicine and the systematic review in perioperative medicine]

The aim of Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the unbiased and systematic identification and synthesis of valid scientific data. These best-evidence data may then be used for clinical decision-making. The systematic review is the most important tool of EBM and gives a specific answer to a specific question. More than 200 systematic reviews have been published in perioperative medicine. They treat complications and risks related to anaesthesia, postoperative and labour analgesia, nausea and vomiting, regional anaesthesia, blood transfusion and fluids replacement, and resuscitation. The majority of these systematic reviews are of good quality. In the specific settings of perioperative medicine the number of systematic reviews has become so important that recommendations for evidenced-based strategies of prevention and therapy can be formulated.