Ateneo - UPO

The course provides an introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), focusing on statistical aspects and study design

Scientific articles and course materials provided during lectures

Knowledge of the main methods used in experimental studies (clinical trials) in medicine and in meta-analyses. Understanding of the statistical aspects related to survival analysis and the conduct of meta-analyses.

Students must have passed the Quantitative Sciences exam, in accordance with the Medicine program regulations

Lectures supported by PowerPoint slides and practical exercises focused on evaluating the design and results of studies presented in scientific articles concerning controlled and randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses, as well as on the assessment of study quality.

The material used in class will be made available on the DIR platform
Students with disabilities, DSA, BES, once they have contacted the University Staff, can contact the teacher in charge of the course in relation to the declination of the exam methods, regarding the teaching aspects.

The exam consists of 10 multiple-choice questions related to the content of a scientific article that will be sent to students on the afternoon before the exam, and to the topics covered in the “Statistics for EBM” module.
Each correct answer will be awarded 0.5 points. The score obtained will contribute to the overall grade of the Medical Pathology III exam.

Characteristics of Experimental Clinical Studies
Study designs: between-patient and within-patient
Randomization methods
Sample size determination
Systematic errors (bias)
Measures of association and impact
Basics of survival analysis
Real-world evidence vs. randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
Literature search
Assessment of study quality
Meta-Analyses
Types of literature reviews
Definition of the study objective
Literature search
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Data collection
Statistical analysis: fixed- and random-effects models, assessment of heterogeneity among studies
Sensitivity analyses

Knowledge:
At the end of the course, students will have knowledge of:
i) the main characteristics of controlled and randomized clinical trials
ii) the main statistical methods used to analyze data from controlled and randomized clinical trials
iii) the main tools and scales used to assess the quality of a study
iv) the main methods for conducting a meta-analysis
Skills:
Students will be able to:
i) understand the process and design of a controlled and randomized clinical trial
ii) perform a scientific literature search on a specific clinical question and evaluate the quality of the selected studies and the reliability of their results
iii) understand the procedures involved in carrying out a meta-analysis
Transversal skills:
Students will be able to understand and critically evaluate the content of a scientific article in order to inform clinical practice and make appropriate decisions among different patient care options.