User's guide to a randomized trial about an orthopaedic implant.

ABSTRACT

Evidence-based orthopaedic surgery emphasizes the need to properly appraise the available literature to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions before accepting them into daily practice. A properly designed and well-conducted randomized controlled trial provides a very high level of evidence on which to guide clinical decisions in orthopaedic surgery. The purpose of this article is to assist orthopaedic surgeons with this process, focusing on critically reviewing randomized controlled trials.