Retrospective versus prospective audit: a trial of two methods.
Retrospective and prospective approaches to collecting information were compared in a study of spinal cord injury. The data show that the retrospective approach resulted in some underestimation of cases; that it was a very lengthy, time-consuming process; and that it produced significantly fewer useful clinical data than the prospective method.
D003237:Connecticut; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*