Evidence-based medicine is a redundant term to the extent that doctors have always claimed they practiced medicine on the basis of evidence. They have, however, disagreed about what exactly constitutes legitimate evidence and how to synthesize the totality of evidence in a way that supports clinical action. Despite claims to the contrary, little progress has been made in solving this hard probl...

This critical review examines efficacy of CILT in comparison to traditional treatment methods for adults with aphasia as well as the efficacy of modified versions of the original CILT protocol. Study designs include: individual series pre-post treatment (3), mixed randomized clinical trial (RCT) (2), mixed non-randomized clinical trial (NRCT) (2), mixed randomized block (1) designs. Overall, re...

conclusions cognitive behavior therapy was more effective than the other psychotherapy approaches relieving chronic pain in the studies. well-designed studies and comprehensive clarification of the studies demonstrating groups, intervention, follow-up and drop outs can improve the quality of the rcts. context keeping in mind the burden of psychotherapy can play a crucial role concerning chronic...

While randomized clinical trials (RCTs) should provide the basis for evidence-based medicine, as currently designed and analyzed, they often mislead clinical decision-making. Comparative effectiveness evaluation of two treatments [Treatment 1 (T1) versus Treatment 2 (T2)] should not be determined by the statistical effect of treatments on individual measures of outcome (benefits and/or harms), ...

in combination with randomization, blinding or masking is an important factor in randomized controlled trials (rcts), particularly in trials that assess therapeutic effects. here an attempt is made to explain blindness and why it is important. in clinical trials, blinding is defined as the condition imposed on a study in which study participants, health care providers and assessors collecting o...

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are essential for evaluating the efficacy of clinical interventions, where the causal chain between the agent and the outcome is relatively short and simple and where results may be safely extrapolated to other settings. However, causal chains in public health interventions are complex, making RCT results subject to effect modification in different population...

OBJECTIVE The lack of a standard methodology in diagnostic research impedes adequate evaluation before implementation of constantly developing diagnostic techniques. We discuss the methodology of diagnostic research and underscore the relevance of decision analysis in the process of evaluation of diagnostic tests. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING Overview and conceptual discussion. RESULTS Diagnost...

Well-conducted randomized clinical trials (RCT) are essential for the objective assessment of the value of new diagnostic or therapeutic medical interventions. They also will give us information about the effect of the intervention on cost and quality of life. Although the RCT was introduced 50 years ago, the requirements to ensure the best possible quality are continuously scrutinized.1–4 That...