THERAPY WORKSHEET (page 1 of

Title of the article : ……………………………………….

First authors : ……………………………………….
Journal : ……………………………………….

A. VALIDITY: Are the results of this single preventive or therapeutic trial valid?

Was the assignment of patients to treatments

randomised?
 and was the randomisation list concealed?

Were all patients who entered the trial accounted for at

its conclusion?
 and were they analysed in the groups to which
they were randomised?

Were patients and clinicians kept “blind”

to which treatment was being received?

Aside from the experimental treatment,

were the groups treated equally?

Were the groups similar at the start of the trial?

Occurrence of diabetic Relative Risk Absolute Risk Number Needed
neuropathy Reduction Reduction to Treat
RRR ARR NNT
Usual Insulin Intensive CER - EER CER - EER 1/ARR
Control Event Insulin CER
Rate Experimental
CER Event Rate
EER
9.6% 2.8% 9.6% - 2.8% = 9.6% - 2.8% = 1/6.8% = 15
71% 6.8% pts,
9.6% (4.3% to 9.3%) (11 to 23)

B. IMPORTANCE
Sample calculations:

95% Confidence Interval (CI) on an NNT = 1 / (limits on the CI of its ARR) =

Your calculations:

Relative Risk Absolute Risk Number Needed to

Reduction (RRR) Reduction (ARR) Treat (NNT)
CER EER CER - EER CER - EER 1/ARR
CER

THERAPY WORKSHEET (page 2 of

C. APPLICABILITY: Can you apply this valid, important evidence about a

treatment in caring for your patient?
1. Do these results apply to your patient?
Is your patient so different from those
in the trial that its results can’t help
you?

How great would the potential benefit

of therapy actually be for your
individual patient?

Method I: f f = Risk of the outcome in your patient,

relative to patients in the trial. expressed as a
decimal = ……….
NNT for patients like yours = NNT/f = ….../ …
= ………

Method II: 1 / (PEER x RRR) PEER = Your patient’s expected event rate if
they received the control treatment = ……..
(NNT for patients like yours) =
1 / (PEER x RRR) = 1/ ………….= ………

2. Are your patient’s values and preferences satisfied by the regimen and its
consequences?
Do your patient and you have a clear
assessment of their values and
preferences?
 Are they met by this regimen and its
consequences?

Additional Notes:
 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WORKSHEET (page 1 of 2)

Are the results of this systematic review of therapy valid?

Is it a systematic review of randomised trials
of the treatment you’re interested in?

Does it include a methods section that

describes:
finding and including all the relevant
trials?

assessing their individual validity?

Were the results consistent from study to

study?

Are the valid results of this systematic review important?

Translating odds ratios to NNTs. The numbers in the body of the table are the NNTs for the
corresponding odds ratios at that particular patient’s expected event rate (PEER).

Odds Ratios (OR)

0.9 0.85 0.8 0.75 0.7 0.65 0.6 0.55 0.5
.05 2091 139 104 83 69 59 52 46 412
.10 110 73 54 43 36 31 27 24 21
Control .20 61 40 30 24 20 17 14 13 11
Event .30 46 30 22 18 14 12 10 9 8
Rate .40 40 26 19 15 12 10 9 8 7
(CER) .503 38 25 18 14 11 9 8 7 6
.70 44 28 20 16 13 10 9 7 6
.90 1014 64 46 34 27 22 18 15 125

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WORKSHEET (page 2 of 2)

1
The relative risk reduction (RRR) here is 10%.
2
The RRR here is 49%
3
For any OR, NNT is lowest when PEER = .50
4
The RRR here is 1%
5
The RRR here is 9%
Can you apply this valid, important evidence from a systematic review in caring for
your patient?
Do these results apply to your patient?
Is your patient so different from those
in the overview that its results can’t
help you?

How great would the potential benefit

of therapy actually be for your
individual patient?

Method I: In the table on page 1, find

the intersection of the closest odds
ratio from the overview and the CER
that is closest to your patient’s
expected event rate if they received
the control treatment (PEER):
Method II: To calculate the NNT for
any OR and PEER:

___1 - {PEER x (1 -
OR)}____
NNT = (1 - PEER) x PEER x (1 -
OR)
Are your patient’s values and preferences satisfied by the regimen and its
consequences?
Do your patient and you have a clear
assessment of their values and
preferences?

Are they met by this regimen and its

consequences?

Should you believe apparent qualitative differences in the efficacy of therapy in some
subgroups of patients? Only if you can say “yes” to all of the following:
1. Do they really make biologic and clinical sense?
2. Is the qualitative difference both clinically (beneficial for some but useless or harmful for
others) and statistically significant?
3. Was this difference hypothesised before the study began (rather than the product of
dredging the data), and has it been confirmed in other, independent studies?
4. Was this one of just a few subgroup analyses carried out in this study?

Additional Notes:
 DIAGNOSIS WORKSHEET (page 1

Are the results of this diagnostic study valid?

1. Was there an independent, blind
comparison with a reference (“gold”)
standard of diagnosis?

2. Was the diagnostic test evaluated in an

appropriate spectrum of patients (like
those in whom it would be used in
practice)?

3. Was the reference standard applied

regardless of the diagnostic test result?

Are the valid results of this diagnostic study important?

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS:
Target Disorder Totals
(iron deficiency anaemia)
Present Absent
Diagnostic Positive 731 b 270 a+b
Test Result (<65 mmol/L) a 1001
(serum ferritin) Negative 78 d 1500 c+d
(>65 mmol/L) c 1578
Totals 809 b+d 1770 a+b+c+d
a+c 2579
Sensitivity = a/(a+c) = 731/809 = 90% Specificity = d/(b+d) = 1500/1770 =
85%
Likelihood Ratio for a positive test result = LR+=sens/(1-spec)=90%/15%=6
Likelihood Ratio for a negative test result=LR-=(1-sens)/spec=10%/85%=0.12
Positive Predictive Value = a/(a+b) = 731/1001 = 73%
Negative Predictive Value = d/(c+d) = 1500/1578 = 95%
Pre-test Probability (prevalence) = (a+c)/(a+b+c+d) = 809/2579 = 32%
Pre-test-odds = prevalence/(1-prevalence) = 31%/69% = 0.45
Post-test odds = Pre-test odds x Likelihood Ratio
Post-test Probability = Post-test odds/(Post-test odds + 1)

YOUR CALCULATIONS:
Target Disorder Totals

Present Absent
Diagnostic Positive a b a+b
Test Result
Negative c d c+d

Totals a+c b+d 1770 a+b+c+d

Sensitivity = a/(a+c) = Specificity = d/(b+d) =

Likelihood Ratio for a positive test result = LR+=sens/(1-spec)=
Likelihood Ratio for a negative test result=LR-=(1-sens)/spec=
Positive Predictive Value = a/(a+b) = Negative Predictive Value = d/(c+d) =
Pre-test Probability (prevalence) = (a+c)/(a+b+c+d) =
Pre-test-odds = prevalence/(1-prevalence) =
Post-test odds = Pre-test odds x Likelihood Ratio =
Post-test Probability = Post-test odds/(Post-test odds + 1) =
 DIAGNOSIS WORKSHEET (page 2
Can you apply this valid, important evidence about a diagnostic test in caring for your patient?
Is the diagnostic test available, affordable,
accurate, and precise in your setting?

Can you generate a clinically sensible

estimate of your patient’s pre-test probability
(from practice data, from personal
experience, from the report itself, or from
clinical speculation)

Will the resulting post-test probabilities affect

your management and help your patient?
(Could it move you across a test-treatment
threshold?; Would your patient be a willing
partner in carrying it out?)

Would the consequences of the test help

your patient?

Additional Notes:
 PROGNOSIS WORKSHEET (page 1

Are the results of this prognosis study valid?

1. Was a defined, representative sample of
patients assembled at a common (usually
early) point in the course of their disease?

2. Was patient follow-up sufficiently long and

complete?

3. Were objective outcome criteria applied in

a “blind” fashion?

4. If subgroups with different prognoses are

identified, was there adjustment for
important prognostic factors?

5. Was there validation in an independent

group (“test-set”) of patients?
 PROGNOSIS WORKSHEET (page 2

PROGNOSIS WORKSHEET: Page 2 of 2

Are the valid results of this prognosis study important?

1. How likely are the outcomes over time?

2. How precise are the prognostic

estimates?

If you want to calculate a Confidence Interval around the measure of Prognosis:

Clinical Measure Standard Error (SE) Typical calculation of CI
Proportion (as in the rate of  {p x (1-p) / n} Example
some prognostic event, etc) where p is proportion and n is If p = 24/60 = 0.4 (or 40%) &
where: number of patients n=60

the number of patients = n SE={0.4 x (1-0.4) / 60} = 0.063

(or 6.3%)
the proportion of these patients
who experience the event = p 95% CI is 40% +/- 1.96 x 6.3% or
27.6% to 52.4%

 {p x (1-p) / n} Your calculation:

n from your evidence: ________ where p is proportion and n is
number of patients SE: ____________

p from your evidence: ________ 95% CI:

Can you apply this valid, important evidence about prognosis in caring for your
patient?
1. Were the study patients similar to your
own?

2. Will this evidence make a clinically

important impact on your conclusions
about what to offer or tell your patient?

Additional Notes: