From protocol to practice: translating the clinical data into clinical practice.
Clinicians must be prepared to treat individual patients based on evidence-based risk assessments. However, ethnic minorities, the elderly, and women have been underrepresented in large-scale studies, so data to support clinical decisions for patients in these groups may be lacking. One notable example is the Framingham Heart Study, with a study population consisting of a nearly homogeneous population from one small American town. Clearly, future studies must include more representative samples from these populations. Meanwhile, the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines should be applied across the board.
Ferdinand
Keith C
KC
Heartbeats Life Center, 1201 Poland Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117, USA. kcferdmd@aol.com
D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D035843:Biomedical Research; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology