There is no evidence to suggest that testing for hypercoagulopathy benefits most patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Nor has research established that thrombophilia test results improve the ability to predict recurrence better than clinical...

Acupuncture reduces the frequency of migraine headaches when used as an adjunct to, or in place of, medical management. (Strength of Recommendation: A, based on meta-analyses).

Clinical indicators (e.g., sex, snoring severity, history of apnea, age, menopausal status, waist-to-hip ratio, body habitus) can predict OSA as diagnosed using overnight polysomnography or sleep study. (Strength of Recommendation: B, based...

No element or combination of elements from the clinical history and physical examination are sufficiently sensitive or specific to confirm or exclude acute community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). A chest x-ray is recommended to make the diagnosis (Grade...

Daily sunscreen use reduces the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma but not the incidence of basal cell carcinoma. (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: B, based on a single randomized controlled trial with less than 13 years ...

No single clinical finding can accurately diagnose DVT. [Strength of recommendation: A, based on a systematic review of homogeneous validating cohort studies with good reference standards.] However, when organized into clinical decision rules (CDRs...

The diagnosis of vWD requires two clinical criteria: (1) a personal history, family history, or physical evidence of mucocutaneous bleeding and (2) a qualitative or quantitative decrease in functional activity of von Willebrand factor (v...

Treating fever significantly increases comfort, activity, feeding, and fluid intake and decreases the patient's temperature compared with placebo (strength of recommendation (SOR): A, multiple randomized controlled trials ...

Spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) reduces lower back pain and improves the ability to perform everyday activities more than sham therapies (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, multiple randomized controlled trials [RCTs] ...

Use of a nylon brush (Cytobrush and others) with spatula to obtain Papanicolaou (Pap) smears from pregnant women is more likely to obtain sufficient endocervical cells, without adverse consequence for the mother or for the ...

Aspirin probably shouldn't be used for routine prevention because of its potential risks (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, systematic review of inconsistent evidence). However, aspirin is likely to be effective for ...

Children with suspected or culture-proven acute nonvenereal bacterial conjunctivitis should be treated with topical antibiotics, which hastens clinical and microbiological remission and may prevent potentially serious morbidity. In light of recent...

A well-designed oral food challenge (OFC) is the most reliable diagnostic test for infants whose clinical history and physical examination suggest a specific food allergy (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, consensus guidelines)....

Exercise reduces patient-perceived symptoms of depression when used as monotherapy (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [RCTs] with significant heterogeneity). It relieves ...

AWS may be managed with outpatient therapy if the patient has mild to moderate symptoms. (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: B, based on one randomized, prospective trial). The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Scale for Alcohol, Revised (CIWA...

as well as overall cardiovascular risks, presence of target organ damage, and clinical cardiovascular disease, because lifestyle modification and medication can both affect quality of life (SOR: C, expert opinion)....

Q: How do clinical prediction rules compare with joint fluid analysis in diagnosing gout? Evidence-based answer: Clinical prediction rules effectively diagnose gout without joint fluid analysis. The American College of Rheumatology clinical...

Questionnaires, physical examination, and clinical prediction rules estimate the pretest probability of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), but are not specific enough to make the diagnosis (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, meta...

In general, about 50% to 70% of patients respond to nedocromil (SOR: A, multiple RCTs and meta-analyses). Unfortunately, which patients respond is not predictable from clinical parameters. Nedocromil is worth trying in mild persistent asthma...

It's unknown which -- if any -- historical factors are most useful, because no studies evaluating their accuracy with rotator cuff tears have been done. As for physical findings, no single physical examination finding is ...