On 11/08/15 13:37, Douglas Badenoch wrote:
>
> Then I can happily ignore them and spend more time looking at the good
> stuff.
>
I disagree:
Narrative reviews are the main source for grasping background knowledge.
And you will never be able to ask foreground questions (and to
understand a systematic review) without it.
The classification of diseases, classes of drugs, mechanisms, outcomes
etc, are all conceptual models that cannot be addressed only quantitatively.
As new diseases, new treatments, new mechanisms are discovered,
background questions are certainly not only for students.
Therefore, trying to insure as much as possible that they don't become
disguised commercials seems to me a valuable enterprise.
That said, yes: trying to convince people that narrative reviews aren't
an acceptable source of information for deciding about a clinical choice
with a specific patient, is even more valuable.
regards,
Piersante Sestini
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