Clinical Trials

■■❚❙❘Chapter 37Critical Appraisalof a ReportAmeet Bakhai, Jaymin Shah, and Duolao WangThe number of clinical trials being published in peer-reviewedjournals continues to increase. While formal guidance is availableon how to submit and systematically score such reports, interms of their data, design, and presentation [1–3], there arefew recommendations about how to interpret clinical trials [4].Our perception of the results of trials may be influenced byexpert peer presentations, media coverage, investment bankingreports, and Internet debate, all of which can give opposingopinions. Therefore, healthcare professionals need to developthe ability to quickly and effectively evaluate the results of aclinical trial for themselves. In this chapter, we provide 10 keyquestions to assist in the evaluation of clinical trials, usinga somewhat unconventional but critical approach to gaugea report in more depth.427