Principles of Evidence-Based Medicine

For medical purposes, evidence can be any data or information, whether it be strong or weak, obtained through experience, observational or experimental research. Evidence-based practice or medicine (EBM) evolved through a methodical, rational accumulation, analysis, and understanding of the evidentiary knowledge that can be applied in the clinical setting(s). The main goal of interventional pain management research is to standardize techniques, improve effectiveness, and reduce the risk of adverse events. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard of EBM. In RCTs, patients receive either an investigational or control treatment, in a randomized and blinded manner. The strongest sources of evidence constitute systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Systematic reviews minimize bias through a comprehensive search and selection of articles for review and provides assessment of the methodological quality of the studies. Interventional pain management research provides algorithmic approaches to various chronic pain conditions with interventional techniques following the SAFE principles: safety, appropriateness, fiscal neutrality, and effectiveness. To support the ongoing improvement of patient-centered pain medicine, we must be empowered to advance well-conducted research, expand education, and enthuse good practice by recognizing what is effective and what is not, and develop new techniques and approaches to therapeutics.