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Evidence in VTE
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One of the founding fathers of evidence-based medicine (EBM), David L. Sackett, defines EBM as "The integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values". The focus is on ‘evidence-based’. Management decisions with respect to the methods used to diagnose a disease, the treatment given, and the counseling of patients about the prognosis are based on systematically gathered evidence from high-quality clinical studies, which is translated into guidelines written by experts.
Clinicians have always felt the need for valid up-to-date information but in the last decade in particular, the limitations of the traditional methods of collecting information have been realized. Textbooks become rapidly out of date, the number of medical journals is overwhelming and time is increasingly valuable. Also, the needs (and demands) of patients have changed, as a result of the Internet for example. The importance of EBM is that it offers clinicians the tools to track down and appraise scientific evidence.
Like every method, EBM has its limitations. First, applying EBM requires the development of new skills, such as a knowledge of information technology and how to appraise new information. Second, scientific evidence from clinical investigations is not always consistent. Third, it is often difficult to apply scientific evidence to the care of individual patients.
Reference: Sackett DL, Straus SH, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB. Evidence-based medicine – how to practice and teach EBM. Second edition. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 2000.
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