Evidence-based veterinary medicine 3. Appraising the evidence

THE final article of this three-part series discusses a key skill required for the practice of evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) -the ability to appraise the evidence presented in scientific papers. Having identified information needs and searched for evidence - processes discussed in Parts 1 and 2 - the clinician needs to evaluate the usefulness of the evidence by asking questions such as, 'Is it true?' and 'Is it relevant to my patient?'. Clearly, an understanding of study design and methods of analysing the results is required in order to determine the validity and relevance of clinical studies.