Re: Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?
The 74 year old who is put on a high dose statin because the clinician applies a fragment of a guideline uncritically and who, as a result, develops muscle pains that interfere with her hobbies and ability to exercise, is a good example of the evidence based tail wagging the clinical dog.
This is not a EBM failure, it is a failure to adequately apply EBM to patient care.
"Your risk of heart attack stroke or death is X%. With this drug it will go down by 2%. If this drug makes your muscles ache or makes you sick come back to see me and we can reassess it."
EBM is all well and good, so long as one wishes to care for diseases rather than people.
Rapid Response:
Re: Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?
The 74 year old who is put on a high dose statin because the clinician applies a fragment of a guideline uncritically and who, as a result, develops muscle pains that interfere with her hobbies and ability to exercise, is a good example of the evidence based tail wagging the clinical dog.
This is not a EBM failure, it is a failure to adequately apply EBM to patient care.
"Your risk of heart attack stroke or death is X%. With this drug it will go down by 2%. If this drug makes your muscles ache or makes you sick come back to see me and we can reassess it."
EBM is all well and good, so long as one wishes to care for diseases rather than people.
Competing interests: No competing interests