Clinical Literature Interpretation Flashcards

A cohort study follows patients with and without statin use over 10 years to assess cardiovascular events. What measure of association is most appropriate to report?

Answer: Relative risk (RR)

Relative risk is the preferred measure of association in cohort studies with known incidence rates.

A study has a wide 95% confidence interval crossing 1.0 for an odds ratio. What does this indicate?

Answer: The result is not statistically significant

A 95% CI for an odds ratio that includes 1.0 indicates no statistically significant difference between groups.

Which study design provides the highest level of evidence for evaluating therapeutic interventions?

Answer: Systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Systematic reviews with meta-analyses of RCTs sit at the top of the evidence hierarchy for therapeutic questions.

In a crossover trial, which design feature helps control for carryover effects?

Answer: Washout period between treatment phases

A washout period allows prior treatment effects to dissipate before the next phase begins, controlling for carryover.

A pharmacist reviews a trial where the primary endpoint was changed after enrollment began but before unblinding. This is an example of:

Answer: Outcome reporting bias

Changing the primary endpoint after trial initiation but before unblinding introduces outcome reporting bias.

A study reports a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 85% for a diagnostic test. Which statement is correct?

Answer: The test correctly identifies 92% of true positive cases

Sensitivity measures the proportion of true positives correctly identified (92% of diseased patients test positive).

What does the number needed to harm (NNH) represent?

Answer: The number of patients who must receive a treatment for one additional patient to experience harm

NNH = 1/absolute risk increase, representing how many patients need treatment before one additional adverse outcome occurs.