Evidence-based medicine requires a critical appraisal
of the literature based upon study methodology
and number of subjects. Not all references are
equally robust. The findings of a large, prospective,
randomized, and blinded trial should carry more
weight than a case report.
To help the reader judge the strength of each
reference, pertinent information about the study,
such as the type of study and the number of patients
in the study, will be included in bold type following
the reference, where available. In addition, the most informative references cited in this paper, as determined
by the authors, will be noted by an asterisk (*)
next to the number of the reference.
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