Evaluation Method for Determining the Applicability of Medical Literature in Clinical Practice

Objective: Evidence-based medicine offers explicit methods to evaluate the evidence grades of literature. However, evidence grades do not meet all the practical needs of physicians. This study is aimed to develop a convenient method for evaluating the clinical value of medical literature from the perspective of the clinician.

Methods: A literature applicability equation was formulated through the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process. A consistency check was used to ascertain the efficacy of the formula. Three senior clinicians assessed 30 articles based on their clinical experiences and subjective opinions, while one independent researcher performed independent assessments of the applicability of 30 articles using the evaluation formula.

Results: The literature applicability equation was Y = 3.93X1 + 11.78X2 + 14.83X3 + 44.53X4 + 24.93X5, where Y = literature applicability, X1 = years since publication, X2 = target question covered or not, X3 = sample size, X4 = study type, and X5 = journal quality. Consistency index (CI) values for the first-level indicator (“literature applicability”) and the second-level indicators (“pertinence and timeliness” and “quality of results”) were 0.0325, 0.0012, and 0.0001, respectively. The weights used to calculate the matrix indicators had satisfactory accordance (random coincidence coefficient = 0.056). A consistency check for the efficacy of the formula revealed kappa = 0.749 and P < .001.

Conclusion: The developed and validated literature applicability evaluation formula may be a useful and convenient tool for identifying clinically valuable medical literature.