Diagnostic tests can be big business. Angel Wong reports on one case study highlighting how deceptive such tests can be.
Danny Minkow looks into how the COMET initative is working to developing and apply an agreed-upon set of outcomes measures in medical research. Why is it needed?
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Students 4 Best Evidence has been shortlisted for the UK Blog Awards 2015, education (industry) category! Well done!
They’re doing it in restaurants; in bars; in clubs; they’re even doing it at work. But what does the evidence say about the effects of vaping?
Have you ever sat in on a practice meeting or MDT, gobbling sandwiches and cakes that have appeared as if by magic? Have you scribbled feverishly in a lecture with a handy “free” pen emblazoned with a drug brand or company logo? That lanyard round your neck, what does it say again? A paper by Yeh et al published in PLOS Medicine earlier this year from the USA highlights that medical students are frequently entertained by pharmaceutical company representatives, even
This week Robert Kemp grapples with two trials featured in Richard Lehman’s reviews in the BMJ, with a focus on surrogate outcomes.
Dannky Minkow describes a new initiative aimed at getting health care professionals to take another look at their use of non evidence-based and wasteful practices.
(Take the survey here.) S4BE is growing up. Our wonderful contributors have together written a lot of blog posts, and students and trainees in far-flung college campuses are helping spread the news about best evidence. Also, we’re on the radars of and partners with a few big organisations, and thanks to the hard work of lots and lots of different people, we’re in the minds of many others. Into 2015, we’re planning on working with more universities, helping students focus
In Richard’s Reviews this week, we look at progress in sharing clinical trial data through the All Trials campaign, and the nature of patient-centred outcomes research.
Want to attend the big evidence-based conference happening next April? Well go to evidencelive.org for more details about student abstract submission!
From Richard’s Reviews, Pishoy highlights the devastating effects of Ebola from a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine “Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone” as well as give us a brief overview of the viral disease. Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone What is Ebola? Ebola virus disease (EVD) is an infection illness caused by the infamous Ebola virus. The strain that has been identified in the
This time we’re looking at a couple of pragmatically designed randomised controlled trials examining the role of integrated care programmes in treating COPD.
What does it mean to be in a partnership with Students 4 Best Evidence?
We’ve put together some guidance on how, what, and why to blog. If you’re after some advice or tips, this might be a good place to start before you dive into writing for S4BE, or any blog, really.
We have entered the 2015 UK Blog Awards education category and we need your votes!
Publication bias is generally ascribed to failure by researchers to submit studies for publication. This current study aims to further evaluate whether the editorial and peer review process also contributes to publication bias.
From Richard’s reviews, we look at a systematic review of management in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes and a study evaluating progress in reducing global childhood mortality.
Norah goes over a couple of interesting studies that were mentioned in one of Richard Lehman’s review of journals for the BMJ. These studies include a new drug for RSV, some unnecessary and other harmful interventions, and the benefits of public transport.
The relationship between Shared Decision Making and EBM; two separate disciplines or not? Read Ammar’s piece on this subject and have your say.
Advancing techniques and mechanization in every field has led to newer computer or written questionnaires in the field of medicine.
One often is confused whether to rely on these questionnaires or carry out oral history taking which has been prevalent for ages?
here’s an insight to it through various researches…
The rising ills of media affect our lives in ways deeper than we can imagine. As a matter of fact, it is a rising cause of psychiatric disorders, lets have a look why.
As calculating the mean is so popular it might lead to many intuitive misconceptions. Here are some precautions you can take when interpreting the mean.
From Richard’s Reviews, we highlight the importance of constantly rethinking how we manage patients with kidney stones (nephorlithiasis) and heart attacks (myocardial infarctions).
Sham devices can have a larger effect than placebo, should they remain to be under-regulated? Yamama tells us more.
Voting opens on the 10th November 2014! #UKBA15
University can be tough. Ashline gives some useful tips for getting back into uni and coping to the end of the year!
New S4BE Contributor Amy came along to the S4BE Wikipedia Editathon. In this blog she discusses how Wikipedia can help share the latest health information and how she found editing Wiki for the first time…
Next time you visit your doctor you may find that they’re relying on Wikipedia. I went to India to find out why this isn’t as scary as you might think, and how much everyone’s favourite free encyclopaedia is revolutionising the world of medicine.
I did it. I’ve been inducted. Ascended to a higher plain of existence. Yes, that’s right: I am now a Wikipedia editor. And it actually wasn’t that hard.
Here are 10 of the multiple available health apps to improve your efficiency in clinical practice and research. Most of them are free, enjoy…
From Richard’s review this week, we look at whether bisphosphonates can prevent breast cancer, and whether bivalirudin is actually any better than good old-fashioned heparin in patients with ACS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
Key message: Evidence Based Medicine is useful for informing healthcare professionals what works, what doesn’t, and helping to determine if the benefits outweigh the harms, but it’s far from perfect. There are valuable lessons learned about research that we can share across disciplines. What is the Evidence Based Medicine problem? In 2005, Dr. John Ioannidis, a well-known meta-researcher, published an article in PLoS Medicine called Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. This article caused a splash and has been making
Missed the event? Don’t worry. Here you have another chance to go through the workshops and the edits.
From Richards’s Review this week, Pishoy highlights the resurrection of the BCG vaccine and the new gene on the block in the world of breast cancer.
The Systematic Review is the highest level of research design and brings available evidence to find an answer to a research question. Read Danny’s blog.
The UK Cochrane Centre has been kind enough to help us choose our Wikipedia Week topics and set a task list, Ammar tells us more.
this is a reblog from http://dmlcentral.net/. It’s a piece by Cathy Davidson, Director of Futures Initiative, at The Graduate Center, CUNY. We thought it was really useful for S4BE Contributors CV’s when citing your blogs.
Surrogate endpoints are like a double edged sword. Even though they do have some benefits on some occasions, they can easily mislead doctors into withdrawing the wrong conclusions. It is, therefore, important to use them with caution.
We’re having and S4BE Google+ hangout on Sunday 7th of September 2014 at 10 am EST. All S4BE contributors are invited to come have a quick and fun chat with us about the future of S4BE!
Richard Lehman is a brilliant academic primary care physician who writes a weekly review of all the big journals; a number of our star bloggers (Pishoy, Nathan, Norah and Yamama) have taken the time to blog Richard’s Reviews for patients and students.
In this blog, Norah uses Richard Lehman’s review of journals for the BMJ to find and summarize the new and interesting publications in medical journals.
Nathan has picked out two parts of Richard’s Review for this week which he’s found especially interesting; Niacin, and Sjögren Syndrome.
This week RIchard talked about a hope he has had since long ago concerning a syndrome called Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Yamama tells us more.
As part of our weekly blog on Richard’s Reviews, this week, Pishoy has picked Malaria and Blood Cholesterol.
Ready to get involved with editing Wikipedia? Read Ammar’s guide.
After 8 long years of University education I have to admit that I still do it. What’s worse; I’ve even been known to do it for my own area of research. So why do I still Wikipedia when I can access the literature? And why I am becoming a Wikipedia editor for for the S4BE Editathon?
Ever heard of the Placebo effect’s evil twin; the Nacebo Effect? A harmful reaction from a harmless treatment. Read Danny’s blog to know more.
An exciting week of blogs, resources and tutorials, culminating in a LIVE Wiki Editathon, online and at the UK Cochrane Centre on the 16th September!
The Cochrane Collaboration announced earlier this year a partnership initiative with WikiProject Medicine; a Wikipedia project, read more here.
August 8 is #DyingToKnowDay, an annual day of bringing to life conversation around death. Ammar tells us a bit more about it.
Do placebos really promote physiological change or is it just the patient’s perspective? How are placebos used in practice? And how ethical is it to use placebos in clinical trials?
Sense about science are encouraging people to #AskForEvidence for fad diets. #diet #spoofdiets
Terms such as significant, hypothesis testing, and p-value are usually found in research papers, here is a review explaining them.
In search of a book with simple, comprehensible definitions and examples of clinical evidence? Do you want to take the first step in understanding common terms in clinical evidence as well as commonly used methods and their pitfalls? This review will inform you if this is the book you’re looking for.
Alice went to the Cochrane UK and Ireland Annual Symposium in Manchester in April – here are her reflections on its theme: Cochrane Evidence: Useful, Usable, and Used.
Richard takes a look at Greenhalgh and colleagues, BMJ article “Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?”.
You probably have heard a debate between clinical judgment and Evidence Based Medicine. Is there a real reason to oppose these two concepts? See here for more…
Antonio takes a detailed look at the latest European Society of Human Reproduction and Embriology guidelines on Endometriosis, from diagnosis to possible treatments.
Is this your first contact with evidence-based healthcare? This course is a perfect start…
Ashline takes a look at ethical assessments and considerations in randomised controlled trials and cluster randomised controlled trials.
What happens when you have a test result? Do you believe it, can you act on it? It all depends where you are. Check out this discussion of post-test probabilities and how they help in the interpretation of test results.
Sean reviews the Statistics Learning Centre’s Videos – a Youtube channel featuring a series of free tutorials which aim to help you learn the concepts of statistics from identifying types of data to performing t-tests in Excel.
Sean reviews ‘What is Evidence Based Medicine and Why Should I care?’, an article for students and healthcare professionals which covers Evidence-Based Medicine from first principles to medical statistics in the course of one free paper.
On the uniform of every fine detective, badges which salute their sensitivity and specificity are worn. From crime to clinic, find out what defines these “pre-test” probabilities.
Danny takes us on a tour of the Evidence-Based Medicine Pyramid and the wonders within.
Pre-test probabilities can help clinicians select and interpret diagnostic tests. To see a recent, real life application check out Aaron’s review of “Diagnostic Accuracy of Point-of-Care Tests for Detecting Albuminuria” from the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Casper takes a look at the IDEAL Collaboration and evidence-based surgery.
Have you been asked to present some slides on an evidence-based topic? This blog can help!
If you were asked, “What are the most important aspects to clinical trials to remember?” what would you convey to your audience? A project funded by the EU has tried to do just that in an educational video published late last year.
Jeff critically appraises a study looking at interactive gaming.
In one of my clinical placements in a school we had patients that had developmental delays due to a diagnosis of Down syndrome. The school PT and I would perform motor groups with some of these patients and their classmates before working individually with them. I saw many improvements in their gross motor skills as well as their social skills as a result of the motor group sessions. This led me to want to find more research on the benefits of sensorimotor group sessions as a PT intervention.
Have you heard of accelerated recovery programs, but aren’t sure what they are? Or are you wondering if they are safe and effective? If so, check out this post about the use of accelerated recovery programs following knee arthroplasty.
Kyungmin’s second prize entry to the Cochrane UK & Ireland Annual Symposium 2014 – Student Competition. A Prezi looking at the latest Cochrane evidence on prostate cancer screening.
Jamie’s third prize winning entry to the Cochrane UK & Ireland Annual Symposium 2014 – Student Competition. A Prezi looking at the latest Cochrane evidence.
Hala’s third prize winning entry to the Cochrane UK & Ireland Annual Symposium 2014 – Student Competition. A Prezi looking at the latest Cochrane evidence.
Anwen’s first prize entry to the Cochrane UK & Ireland Annual Symposium 2014 – Student Competition. A Prezi explaining the latest Cochrane evidence on routine scale & polish for adults.
Danny has reviewed Testing Treatments Interactive, a website to help you understand more about fair tests and research.
Sean reviews The Geek Manifesto by Mark Henderson, a book that asks what governments can learn from the success of Evidence-Based Medicine, how we can improve the public understanding of science and how we can entrench scientific thinking into other aspects of public life.
I have a test, and I know its measure of sensitivity. What does this tell me? When should I use this test? How do I expect this test to perform? Read more about the clinical application of sensitivity.
With this scheme, NICE are aiming to improve the use of evidence by future healthcare professionals by training students to teach their peers how to find the most trustworthy, up to date information.
Danny reviews the book Testing Treatments that aims to help everyone understand fair tests, how to ask questions and understand research.
On the uniform of every fine detective, badges which salute their “sensitivity” and “specificity” are worn. From crime to clinic, find out what defines these “pre-test” probabilities.
Danny takes a look at Lifestyle Redesign®, a program that promotes mental well-being across community-based living elderly in a cost-effective manner.
Danny has reviewed the US Cochrane Center’s online course that aims to help you understand the basics of evidence-based healthcare and why it’s important.
Sense about Science have a long-standing campaign encouraging people to #AskForEvidence and in their new Healthy Evidence forum, in partnership with NHS Choices, they ask patients and the general public to get involved!
Jumper’s knee commonly occurs in athletes involved in jumping sports such as basketball and volleyball. Gradual onset of pain at the front of the knee below the knee cap is the most common complaint of patients experiencing jumper’s knee. Jesse appraises an article looking at possible treatments.
Systematic reviews take a long time to produce, and are often not up to date. In PLOS Medicine last month, a ‘living systematic review’ was proposed, to reduce the gap between evidence and practice.
Can interactive gaming help improve balance for patients post-stroke? Article appraisal.
The purpose of this study was to compare traditional warm-up routines during practice and competition in collegiate women’s soccer to the experimental program of neuromuscular strength training.
The effectiveness of using an implanted functional electrical stimulation system in an individual with a cervical incomplete spinal cord injury for walking; address the use for the quality and efficiency of gait.
Study appraisal looking at what shoes the US Marines should buy to prevent injury, but there is little evidence that supports one shoe design over another.
Ammar takes a detailed look at CEBM’s evidence-based resources!
Review of an article that incorporates balance into therapy sessions as a means to improve walking after spinal cord injury.
In a BMJ editorial last month, Des Spence suggested that EBM may be broken. Alice takes a closer look.
Adam takes a look at possible treatment for chronic shoulder pain, through critical appraisal of a randomized control trial.
Kristian appraises an article looking at manual therapy for sprained ankles.
Rather than opting for surgical procedures, the literature suggests that conservative treatment such as manual therapy, strengthening, and stretching can provide beneficial relief in pain and stiffness, while improving function. Matt discusses.
Jimmy reviews an article on whether manual physical therapy & exercise is more effective than exercise alone in the management of patients with inversion ankle sprains.
A comparison of training protocols for preventing ACL injuries in female athletes.
Physical therapy student Rachel, reviews an article looking at improving walking ability post-stroke.
A comparison of manual therapy to patellar taping in patients with Patello-Femoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS)
Keely reviews the research and treatments that are being suggested as the best form of treatments for this type of pain in the study by Balthazard et al.
Can the effects of stationary aerobic cycling help improve ambulation distance and speed with patients who experience a stroke?
Travis critically appraises an article on ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury in soccer players
An article review about the effects of hip strengthening on treating Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.
Bryan looks at a study on assessing balance exercise programs for people with Alzheimer’s dementia
A summary of an article investigating whether or not conservative treatment of anterior shoulder instability can help an athlete return to their sport during season, without having to undergo surgery.
Check out how electrical stimulation is being used to help patients walk after a stroke.
Progressive Agility and Trunk Stabilization programs are effective at decreasing return to sport time and the rate of re-injury at 2 weeks and 1 year follow-up, when compared with traditional stretching and strengthening programs.
Improvements in postural instability in patient’s with Parkinson’s Disease
Jackie looks at a study focusing on non-pharmacological treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms.
Shoulder impingement is a very common and potentially debilitating injury occurring in individuals ranging from young athletes to the elderly. Jeremy looks at study on rehabilitation options.
Amy discusses whether a hippotherapy simulator (therapeutic simulated horseback riding) is effective therapy for children with Cerebral Palsy.
Jessica reviews study looking at variations of therapy for Osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.
Are manual therapy and exercise effective in treating patients with hip and knee OA?
Spasticity (stiffness) is common among patients with spinal cord injuries. This article reviews the effectiveness of body weight supported treadmill training versus tilt table standing to reduce spasticity.
Want to learn more about the past, present and future of EBM? The BMJ and JAMA have brought together a collection of EBM pioneers for this panel discussion.
An article review of a study investigating the impact of group aquatic training on gait efficiency in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.
A critical appraisal of an article investigating the applicability of High Intensity Exercise Training Programs (HIT) on patients in residential care facilities who have moderate-severe physical and cognitive impairments and who are dependent in at least one activity of daily living (ADL).
The Lancet has recently published a series of papers looking at problems with waste and inefficiency in research, with recommendations for how these could be overcome.
Is NDT-based therapy & task practice more beneficial in improving walking ability compared to task practice alone in patients post-stroke?
This is an article review of a study done in Germany. The study was a randomized controlled study comparing Nordic walking, LSVT BIG therapy, and a home exercise program for patients with Parkinson’s disease. This study provides great evidence for LSVT BIG therapy. However, there has been limited research done since this study.
A different approach to treating patients with shoulder pain.
An introduction to the role of statistical power in the search for evidence.
At one point in time, I could not tell you what the most fatal and common adult motor neuron disease is. That is because I knew nothing about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS until just a few years ago.
Kat’s article review discusses Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis a progressive disease involving degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord and what muscle exercises can help patients.
The number one cause of disability and reason for absentee with industrialized workers is due to low back pain (USA). Hayley discusses possible interventions…
Pulsatile lavage is typically used in wounds to clean out)the wound to prevent further infection and allow the healing process to take place appropriately.
Elizabeth discusses treatment for low back pain in dancers, through an article review.
Long before beginning my studies as a physical therapy student, I was acutely aware of how much a problem back pain could be…
A quicker fix for acute ankle sprains
The universities of Duke and North Carolina have collaborated to produce a very thorough tutorial perfect for anyone new to evidence-based practice.
Children who underwent SDR as well as physiotherapy and regular follow-ups by an experienced team showed improved motor function for up to 10 years after surgery. This information is very useful when discussing treatment options for children with spastic diplegia.
The final two plenary sessions of October 2013’s Cochrane Colloqium looked at knowledge and health globally, and then to the future.
Low back pain can be frustrating, debilitating, and just plain difficult to treat. Take a look at a research article that examines the effectiveness of manual therapy and active exercise for treatment of low back pain.
Does it really make a difference?
Writing and publishing a health paper? We all know that it´s not so easy. If you have ever wished to find some tools and guides, this is for you!
Jennifer takes a look at supported treadmill ambulation for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
GATE (Graphic Approach To Evidence Based Medicine) is a simplified diagram that is used to explain any quantitative study; from an RCT to a cohort.
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