BMJ  2003;327 (2 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7409.0-b

Diabetes review articles don't include POEMs

Clinicians relying on review articles written by experts on the treatment of type 2 diabetes may be misled. Shaughnessy and Slawson (p 266) examined whether patient oriented evidence that matters (POEMs) was present in 35 published reviews of the United Kingdom prospective diabetes study (UKPDS). They found that only six of the reviews included the POEM that tight blood glucose control had no effect on diabetes related mortality or overall mortality, and only seven emphasised that metformin treatment was associated with decreased mortality. The authors say that clinical practice needs to be based on reviews that strictly evaluate both relevance and validity. In an accompanying commentary, Fitzmaurice (p 269) argues that despite the dubious value of review articles, most general practitioners in Britain have got the key messages of the UKPDS.

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Relevant Articles

What happened to the valid POEMs? A survey of review articles on the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Allen F Shaughnessy and David C Slawson
BMJ 2003 327: 266. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

The faults of expert reviews are already well known

D A Fitzmaurice
BMJ 2003 327: 269. [Full Text]