Principles of evidence-based medicine.

Abstract

Evidence-based medicine integrates clinical expertise, patients' values and preferences, and the best available evidence from the medical literature. Evidence-based orthopedics is a model to assist surgeons to improve the process of asking questions, obtaining relevant information efficiently, and making informed decisions with patients. With an increasing appreciation for higher levels of evidence, orthopedic surgeons should move away from lower forms of evidence. The adoption of randomized trials and high-quality prospective studies to guide patient care requires 2 prerequisites: (1) greater appreciation for the conduct of randomized trials in orthopedics and (2) improved education and training in evidence-based methodologies in surgery.