Which type of evidence is generally placed highest in the hierarchy for questions about the effectiveness of a treatment?
- Correct answer
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
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A single large prospective cohort study
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A case-control study
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The opinion of an expert committee
This question is one of 15 in AFK practice: Prevention, infection control and ethics. Test yourself on all of them.
Practice quiz FlashcardsExplanations
Systematic reviews of well-conducted RCTs combine the least-biased primary designs and sit at the top of the hierarchy for therapy questions. Cohort and case-control studies are observational and more prone to confounding, and expert opinion ranks lowest.
Source: Sackett et al., Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM — oneguy
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