Critical Appraisal Template

 Critical Appraisal Template

I. Are the results of the study valid?

• Primary Guides:
  • Was the assignment of patients to treatments randomized?
  • Were all patients who entered the trial properly accounted for and attributed at its conclusion?
  • Was follow-up complete?
  • Were patients analyzed in the groups to which they were randomized?
• Secondary Guides:
  • Were patients, health workers, and study personnel “blind” to treatment?
  • Were the groups similar at the start of the trial?
  • Aside from the experimental intervention, were the groups treated equally?

II. What were the results?

• How large was the treatment effect?
• How precise was the estimate of the treatment effect?

III. Will the results help me in caring for my patients?

• Can the results be applied to my patient care?
• Were all clinically important outcomes considered?
• Are the likely treatment benefits worth the potential harms and costs?

Adapted from Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. Guyatt, et. al.