Asking a clinical question; PICO – Flashcards

1) Descriptive a)Case Series b) Cross sectional/ Survey 2) Analytical or Descriptive Prospective or retrospective cohort 3) Analytical Case Control

RCT (randomized controlled trial) Systematic Review (meta-analysis) of all high quality RCT's

In observational studies, the researcher observes and systematically collects information, but does not try to change the people (or animals, or reagents) being observed. In an experiment, by contrast, the researcher intervenes to change something (e.g., gives some patients a drug) and then observes what happens. In an observational study there is no intervention.

a survey of drinking habits among students; a researcher who joins a biker gang to study their lifestyle (note, as long as the researcher does not try to change their behavior, it's an observational study); taking blood samples to measure blood alcohol levels during Monday morning lectures (yes, you are intervening to take the blood, but you are not trying to change the blood alcohol level: it's just a measurement).

plying a law student with beer to see whether lawyers argue better when drunk; encouraging bikers in one group to stop smoking those funny-looking cigarettes to see whether they get less belligerent; warning one group of students that you are going to take blood alcohol levels next Monday to test for alcohol, and comparing their levels to another group that you did not warn.

Once a person begins to fill the background knowledge component they move into foreground questioning.

PICO is an acronym for: Patient and Problem Sex, age, race? Primary complaint? Disease History? Intervention What do you want to do for them? Prescribe a drug? Order a test? Comparison What alternatives do you want to compare the intervention to? Outcome What do you hope to accomplish, improve or affect? Relieve or reduce symptoms? Improve function or improve test scores?

In children with asthma, are inhaled corticosteroids more likely to result in growth delay than standard therapy with beta-agonists? P= children with asthma I= inhaled corticosteroids C= beta-agonists O= growth delay

search filter in PubMed effective in retrieving valid research studies.