A reading companion

Before a headline changes your practice.

A title can tell you what a paper studied. It rarely tells you enough about the patients, methods, or uncertainty to make a decision. Use these questions to decide what deserves a closer read.

1. What kind of evidence is this?

A randomized trial, observational study, systematic review, case report, and expert commentary answer different questions. Identify the design in the abstract and methods. A review is only as useful as the studies it includes and the way it evaluates them.

2. Do these patients resemble yours?

Check eligibility criteria, setting, emergency versus elective surgery, follow-up, and important exclusions. A result from one institution or selected patient group may not transfer directly to another.

3. What was compared, and what mattered?

Look for the actual procedures or care pathways, the primary outcome, and how outcomes were measured. Consider complications, recovery, function, quality of life, and durability, not just a statistically significant number.

4. How large and how uncertain is the difference?

Read absolute numbers alongside relative measures. Check confidence intervals, follow-up completeness, missing data, and whether the study was designed to support the conclusion being drawn. An association alone does not establish cause.

5. What could change the interpretation?

Read funding and conflict-of-interest disclosures, study limitations, registration details when available, and any correction or retraction notices. Compare a noteworthy finding with the wider body of evidence and current guidance.

Useful starting points

• EQUATOR Network: reporting guidelines organized by study type.
• CONSORT: reporting standards for randomized trials.
• PRISMA: reporting standards for systematic reviews.
• ClinicalTrials.gov: trial registration and reported study information.

This checklist is an original editorial resource, not a formal critical-appraisal instrument or clinical recommendation.