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Measuring and understanding treatment effectiveness in hand surgery.
Sophocles H Voineskos1, Christopher J Coroneos1, Achilleas Thoma2
1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, HSC 4E12, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3Z5, Canada; Surgical Outcomes Research Centre (SOURCE), McMaster University, 202-39 Charlton Avenue East, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 1Y3, Canada.
Hand Clinics
|July 29, 2014
Summary
Hand surgeons must integrate evidence-based medicine into practice. This guide focuses on assessing treatment effectiveness, benefits, risks, and costs for better patient care.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
Background:
- The integration of evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a standard expectation for contemporary hand surgeons.
- Effective patient care necessitates evaluating treatment options for benefits, risks, costs, and applicability.
Observation:
- This article presents a practical, three-step methodology for applying medical literature findings to clinical scenarios.
- The primary emphasis is placed on the critical second and third steps of this approach.
Findings:
- The core of the methodology involves the quantitative measurement of treatment effectiveness.
- Understanding and interpreting the results of treatment effectiveness studies is crucial for clinical decision-making.
Implications:
- This framework empowers hand surgeons to critically appraise therapeutic interventions.
- Adoption of this approach can lead to more informed clinical decisions and improved patient outcomes in hand surgery.
- Enhancing the application of research findings into routine hand surgery practice.
Keywords:
Comparative effectiveness researchConfidence intervalHand surgeryMinimal clinically important differenceNumber needed to treatP-valueRelative riskTreatment outcome
