Letter

Evidence based diagnosis: We may need to be open to new ideas

BMJ 2006; 333 doi: 10.1136/bmj.333.7567.549 (Published 7 September 2006)
Cite this as: BMJ 2006;333:549.1

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  1. Huw Llewelyn, consultant physician (deh.llewelyn@orange.net)
  1. Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Great Western Hospital, Swindon SN3 3BB

    EDITOR—If evidence based diagnosis is still in the dark ages, as Delamothe writes,1 then so is evidence based treatment. The doctor's job is to choose the right treatment. If the diagnosis is wrong then the treatment will be wrong. Inaccurate diagnoses will also affect clinical trials. A treatment may be “evidence based” because it has worked in a published study, but some patients who would have responded …

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