Top 20 research studies of 2013 for primary care physicians

In 2013, we performed monthly surveillance of more than 110 English-language clinical research journals, and identified approximately 250 studies that had the potential to change the practice of family physicians. Each study was critically appraised and summarized by a group of primary care clinicians with expertise in evidence-based medicine. Studies were evaluated based on their relevance to primary care practice, validity, and likelihood that they could change practice. These summaries, called POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters), are e-mailed to subscribers, including members of the Canadian Medical Association. A validated tool was used to obtain feedback from these physicians about the clinical relevance of each POEM and the benefits the physicians expected for their practice. This article, the third installment in this annual series, summarizes the 20 POEMs judged to have the greatest clinical relevance. The included POEMs address questions such as whether patients must fast before measurement of lipids (no), whether a Mediterranean diet reduces mortality (yes), and the likelihood of clinically important bleeding in older patients taking warfarin (3.8% per year).