Critical Appraisal of a Therapeutic Study
[learndash_course_progress] Its now time to pull all the theory together and critically appraise a therapeutic study in the last of our podcasts. In this podcast we review the PIETHO Study using a CASP; RCT checklist. Again the paper is a free open access paper. Pubmed link Have
Treatment effect
[learndash_course_progress] Onto the most important parts of therapeutic papers, what difference does the treatment make? There are several ways to describe the treatment effect, several of which can be used, consciously or not, to lead to a description that overstates the effect.
Therapeutic studies
[learndash_course_progress] Ultimately as clinicians we all want to make a difference to our patients, and that comes down to therapy. Understanding whether a therapy is effective or not and if so to what extent is essential when we decide on treatment. In
Critical Appraisal of a Diagnostic Study
[learndash_course_progress] Its now time to pull all the theory together and critically appraise a diagnostic study. In this podcast we review the The ADJUST-PE Study which is a free open access paper. We run through the critical appraisal with the CASP diagnostic checklist. Pubmed link Have
Likelihood ratios & area under the curve
[learndash_course_progress] Understanding likelihood ratios is part of the mastery of a diagnostic work up. Likelihood ratio help explain the significance of each test we perform and the difference they make to our patients. The area under the curve is used during the
Terminology to be aware of in a diagnostic paper
[learndash_course_progress] There is a lot of terminology to become familiar with regarding diagnostic studies, in this section we run through them and into the world of sensitivity and specificity! This podcast covers Case positive Case negative Test positive Test negative True positive
Diagnostic studies
[learndash_course_progress] Diagnosis and risk stratification defines what we do in EM the most which leads to diagnostic studies being of huge interest. In an ideal world a test would always identify the disease when it is present and always rule it
Being Aware of Outcomes
[learndash_course_progress] It might sound obvious, but the outcomes that researchers look to prove are hugely important. Thought needs to be given to their significance not just statistically but from a patient orientated point of view. A study will frequently look at several
Further terminology to be aware of
[learndash_course_progress] There are frequently used terms when discussing critical appraisal, in this section we run through them which will help when it comes to later discussions and reviews of specific papers. This podcast covers Chance Bias Confounding Internal validity External validity Homogeneous
Different categories of evidence
[learndash_course_progress] Research can take multiple forms. Each of the forms of evidence has potential strengths and weaknesses. In theory these forms of research can be arranged into a hierarchy or ladder, with a pecking order of the evidence. In order to understand