Book Review

Essentially, this title covers two topics: evidence–based medicine (EBM) and how to read a clinical paper. They are not mutually exclusive, given the presence of a number of closely linked themes, but a distinction exists nonetheless.

Taking EBM first, the author refers to this as a ‘no frills introductory text’ but that would be to deny the genuine contribution that this book makes to one of the most fundamental concepts in modern-day medicine. Having covered the mandatory definition and benefits of EBM, the author really does earn her stripes by addressing head-on the common challenges and misrepresentations of EBM, while acknowledging its limitations. But what is worth the price of the book alone is a chapter on ‘Applying evidence with patients’. This is informed writing at its best, aptly supplemented by a generous list of references throughout.

Another impressive feature is how the author seamlessly integrates EBM with the more ‘academic’ part of the content relating to reading clinical papers. For such a slender offering, the author credibly covers a broad range of paper ‘types’ ranging from quantitative to qualitative, statistical analysis, questionnaire research and those that report on clinical trials to name but a few. To complete what is a well-rounded approach, associated topics of searching journal archives and assessing methodological quality are given some attention.