Appraising prognosis evidence

Assess patient similarities, follow-up period, adjustment, temporality, and precision of outcomes

After reading the article related to prognosis, ask these questions:

1. Was a defined, representative sample of patients assembled at a common point in the course of their disease?

2. Was the follow-up of study patients sufficiently long and complete?

3. Were objective outcome criteria applied in a blind fashion?

4. If subgroups with different prognoses are identified, was there adjustment for important prognostic variables and validation in an independent group of test subjects?

5. How likely are the outcomes over time?

6. How precise are the prognostic estimates?
Click on the Applying Prognosis Evidence to continue.
There are six important considerations taken when appraising prognosis evidence: A representative sample at a common point of disease progression, sufficient follow-up on outcomes, blinded and objective outcome criteria, adjustment for prognostic factors and validation, the likelihood of outcomes over time, and the precision of prognostic estimates.