title: Study design in evidence-based surgery: What is the role of case-control studies?
abstract: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard in terms of study design, however, in the surgical setting conducting RCTs can often be unethical or logistically impossible. Case-control studies should become the major study design used in surgical research when RCTs are unable to be conducted and definitely replacing case series which offer little insight into surgical outcomes and disease processes.
authors.affiliation: Amy M Cao, Michael R Cox, Guy D Eslick, Discipline of Surgery, the University of Sydney, Nepean Hospital, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Amy M Cao, Michael R Cox, Guy D Eslick, Discipline of Surgery, the University of Sydney, Nepean Hospital, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: Amy M Cao, Michael R Cox, Guy D Eslick, Discipline of Surgery, the University of Sydney, Nepean Hospital, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Guy D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Eslick
keywords: Bias; Case-control studies; Randomized clinical trials; Research studies; Sample size