Survey: How Good Are You at Interpreting Conflicting Research?

A recent study indicated that internal medicine residents are ill-prepared to understand -- and translate into daily practice -- the statistics presented in most published research. (See: Medicine Residents Have Poor Grasp of Biostatistics in Clinical Studies)

Yet today's emphasis on evidence-based medicine demands that clinicians be able to interpret often-conflicting studies and modify their practice accordingly.

Two studies published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association point up the dilemma. (See Ups and Downs of Thiazolinediones for Diabetes Assessed by Dueling Meta-Analyses

www.medpagetoday.com/Nephrology/Diabetes/tb2/6648)

These meta-analyses are just the latest chapter in a drug safety controversy over rosiglitazone that has been playing out since May, when an earlier Cleveland Clinic meta-analysis grabbed headlines.