In a number of important clinical issues such as evaluation of the efficacy or effectiveness of therapeutic or preventive interventions as well as for comparing the harms of interventions, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) provide the highest levels of evidence, either directly or indirectly. It is obvious that critical appraisal of these studies to assess their validity and precision is of p...

Physicians’ daily need for valid information about diseases, their limited time for finding this information, the inadequacy of traditional sources (E.g. textbooks) to address this matter, the disparity between physicians diagnostic skills and clinical judgment (Which increase with experience) and their up to date knowledge and clinical performance (Which decline by time), as well as dramatic d...

clinical practice guidelines are the most important and valid guidelines for treatment of diseases, and are developed through experts consensus on a subject, considering the highest available evidence (systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomized controlled trials). we briefly review the latest evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of two common diseases of acne (provided by european...

Data Extraction: A total of 356 articles were critically appraised by 2 reviewers to assess eligibility and clinical evidence level. A total of 44 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data Synthesis: Approximately 30% of patients with melanoma reported clinically relevant levels of psychological distress, as measured by a range of validated scales, with symptoms of anxiety more prevalent than de...

Data Synthesis: Sixty-three articles entailing 7 studies were included in the meta-analysis. For the primary outcome of prevalence of events, the meta-analysis showed that there existed an important association between HCV and LP. In the comparison of the prevalence of HCV exposure among patients with LP with that of control participants, the odds ratio (OR) was 5.4 (95% confidence interval [CI...

Data Synthesis: Moderate-quality evidence (level B) was found for recurrence of DFSP after MMS (1.11%; 95% CI, 0.02%-6.03%) vs after wide local excision (6.32%, 95% CI, 3.19%-11.02%). A mean raw recurrence rate of 1.03% (95% CI, 0.37%-2.22%) was found after MMS among 19 nonrandomized noncomparative trials (low-quality evidence [level C]). The mean follow-up periods ranged from 26 to 127 months....

Main Outcome Measures: Using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes, we compared the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and other vascular diseases as well as mortality between patients with psoriasis and controls. Results: Similar to previous studies, we found a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia...

Guide to Community Preventive Services: Systematic Reviews and Evidence-Based Recommendations: Prevention of skin cancer by reducing exposure to UV light through educational and policy approaches oriented to health care settings and providers. Centers for Disease Control, Community Guide Branch Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview /mmwrhtml/rr5215a1.htm. Updated October 14, 2003. Acces...