Practical Application of Evidence-Based Practice

High-quality clinical practice requires veterinarians to stay abreast of new research and integrate relevant findings into patient care. Clinicians can achieve this goal using evidence-based practice (EBP), the stepwise process of integrating best research evidence into existing clinical decision-making processes. This article provides explanations and recommendations for performing key steps of the EBP process, with a focus on issues the exotic animal practitioner might encounter. Key areas of discussion include the development of focused PICO questions, types of literature and search strategies, and basic clinical epidemiology principles, including chance error, bias, confounding, and generalizability.