Evidence Based Pediatrics

What is evidence based pediatrics? Basically, it is applying medical and scientific knowledge to the care of individual patients.

Isn’t that what all doctors do? Isn’t that what it means to practice medicine?

Well, you might think so, but it is often not the case. It is unfortunately quite common for doctors to prescribe treatments that have been clearly shown to have no benefit or effect, or even be harmful. Many order tests that have been shown to have no benefit or even cause unnecessary stress, pain, or harm. Even when expert panels develop evidence-based guidelines and recommendations, many times these are ignored by doctors in private practice. Doctors who are specialists or who practice at an academic medical center tend to be more evidence-based than those out in private practice.

Research proves the point; recent studies show that many people with viral colds continue to receive antibiotics which have no effect on viruses and can cause serious side effects. Many babies and toddlers with colds continue to receive cough medicines, even codeine (which is morphine), even though these have no helpful effect at this age, have been shown to be quite harmful, and have been recommended against for years now in children this age. Still, the practice persists.

There is still an art to medicine. The scientific evidence has to be applied to the individual patient. There is also still much we do not know, and often the best medical science really just helps shift the ability to predict the likelihood of a specific condition. It is still an art to take all the factors into account and to apply them to a specific patient’s condition, values and preferences. However, the scientific evidence should not be ignored.

Evidence-based medicine means applying the best medical science to the individual patient. At Covenant Care Pediatrics, that is exactly what we strive to do. We stay up-to-date on the latest guidelines, recommendations, and medical research, then apply it to our daily practice of treating sick children and keeping children healthy and safe.