Therapie. 2022 Oct 20:S0040-5957(22)00177-9. doi: 10.1016/j.therap.2022.10.008. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Evidence-based medicine is the cornerstone of shared-decision making in healthcare today. The public deserves clear, transparent and trust-worthy information on drug efficacy. Yet today, many drugs are prescribed and used without solid evidence of efficacy. Clinical trials and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are the best method to evaluate drug efficacy and side effects. In a shared medical decision-making approach, general practitioners need drug assessment to be based on patient-important outcomes. The aim of project rebuild the evidence base (REB) is to bridge the gap between the data needed in clinical practice and the data available from clinical research. The drugs will be assessed on clinical patient important outcomes and for a population. Using the Cochrane tools, we propose to analyse for each population and outcome: 1) a meta-analysis based on RCTs with a low risk of bias overall; 2) an evaluation of results of confirmatory RCTs; 3) a statistical analysis of heterogeneity between RCTs, and 4) an analysis of publication bias. Depending on the results of these analyses, the evidence will be categorized in 4 different levels: firm evidence, evidence (to be confirmed), signal or absence of evidence. Project REB proposes a method for reading and interpreting randomized clinical trials and their meta-analysis to produce quality data for general practitioners to focus on benefit-risk assessment in the interest of patients. If this data does not exist, it could enable clinical research to better its aim.
PMID:36371260 | DOI:10.1016/j.therap.2022.10.008
