The ultimate guide to the evidence-based clinical encounter


"This book is an excellent source of supported evidence that provides useful and clinically relevant information for the busy practitioner, student, resident, or educator who wants to hone skills of physical diagnosis. It provides a tool to improve patient care by using the history and physical examination items that have the most reliability and efficiency."--Annals of Internal Medicine


5 STAR DOODY'S REVIEW!
"Physical diagnosis has been taught to every medical student but this evidence-based approach now shows us why, presenting one of medicine's most basic tenets in a new and challenging light. The format is extraordinary, taking previously published material and updating the pertinent evidence since the initial publication, affirming or questioning or refining the conclusions drawn from the data.


"This is a book for everyone who has studied medicine and found themselves doubting what they have been taught over the years, not that they have been deluded, but that medical traditions have been unquestionably believed because there was no evidence to believe otherwise. The authors have uncovered the truth.


" This extraordinary, one-of-a-kind book is a valuable addition to every medical library."--Doody's Review Service


In the tradition of the famous Users' Guides to the Medical Literature, The JAMA series “The Rational Clinical Examination” was created to bring the principles of evidence-based medicine to the diagnostic process. Featuring specific clinical questions, numerous case examples, and precise summaries of available evidence, the RCE series was an instant hit.


Now for the very first time in book form, completely updated with new literature analyses, here is a uniquely practical, clinically relevant approach to the use of evidence in the content of physical examination. Going far beyond the scope of traditional physical examination texts, this invaluable resource compiles and presents the evidence-based meanings of signs, symptoms, and results from physical examination maneuvers and other diagnostic studies. Page after page, you'll find a focus on actual clinical questions and presentations, making it an incomparably practical resource that you'll turn to again and again.


Importantly, the high-yield content of The Rational Clinical Examination is significantly expanded and updated from the original JAMA articles, much of it published here for the first time. It all adds up to a definitive, ready-to-use clinical exam sourcebook that no student or clinician should be without.


FEATURES All the expert perspectives on the application of evidence-based medicine principles-with all the authority of the pioneering JAMA series, The Rational Clinical Examination Packed with updated, new, and previously unpublished information from the original JAMA articles Standardized template for every issue covered, including: Case Presentation; Why the Issue Is Clinically Important; Research and Statistical Methods Used to Find the Evidence Presented; The Sensitivity and Specificity of Each Key Result; Resolution of the Case Presentation; and the Clinical Bottom Line Completely updated with all-new literature searches and appraisals supplementing each chapter Full-color format with dynamic clinical illustrations and images Real-world focus on a specific clinical question in each chapter, reflecting the way clinicians approach the practice of evidence-based medicine More than 50 complete chapters on common and challenging clinical questions and patient presentations Not-to-be-missed coverage of the principles of evidence-based medicine and physical diagnosis, with the concepts of specificity and sensitivity applied to the patient encounter Also available: JAMAevidence.com, a new interactive database for the best practice of evidence based medicine (20081118)