Does evidence-based medicine exist in the treatment of Menière's disease? A critical review of the last decade of publications.
Debate surrounding the need for evidence-based research in all fields of otolaryngology has recently emerged. A review of English language articles dealing with the treatment of Menière's disease published from 1989 to 1999 was performed. The papers were classified according to article type (observational studies, non-clinical studies, controlled trials, randomised controlled trials) and according to the grade of evidence that was offered. A total of 128 publications were reviewed, of which only three were randomised controlled trials and a further three were well-designed controlled studies without randomization. The majority of papers were non-experimental clinical descriptive studies or case series. Data from this review would suggest that more comprehensive evidence-based studies are required in order to settle areas of confusion surrounding treatment of this relapsing condition
Thorp
M A
MA
Department of Otolaryngology, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Shehab
Z P
ZP
Bance
M L
ML
Rutka
J A
JA
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004712:Endolymphatic Sac / Q000601:surgery; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000628:therapy*