ABSTRACT
In medical school, we were crammed full of fundamental facts including the anatomy of the abdominal wall and of the digestive tract, histopathology and clinical signs of inflammation of appendix, the clinical course of treated and untreated appendicitis, uses of antibiotics and surgery in the treatment of localized and generalized infection. Now, we need to know what information (evidence, clinical facts) is the most valuable for our clinical decisions, which include pushing the diagnostic process further, treating or not treating and informing the patient about outcomes of his or her disease. It is our correct and critical thinking which guides our mind and hand towards a properly executed tracheal intubation or lumbar puncture or which leads us to do something else or to do nothing. The chapters that follow (4-11) will introduce the rules according to which various types of evidence in medicine are obtained and evaluated. Once we have assimilated such essential information, we need to learn and understand how medical evidence should be used in our reasoning and decision-making.
