Evidence into practice

• A high quality systematic review of RCTs may provide a body of evidence which is sufficient to support clear recommendations for clinical practice.
• Sometimes there is insufficient RCT research to support clear recommendations for clinical practice.
• When there is a limited amount of high quality evidence available, then it is appropriate (and necessary) to use other types of research and information to guide treatment decisions
• When there are variations in current practice and a limited evidence base, best practice statements may provide the best summary of evidence
• Best practice statements attempt to incorporate professional consensus in the absence of a rigorous evidence base