What did they do? (Methods)

1. Did the investigators enroll the right patients?

2. Was the patient sample representative of those with the clinical problem?

3. Was the definitive diagnostic standard appropriate?

4. Was the diagnostic process credible?

5. For initially undiagnosed patients, was follow-up sufficiently long and complete?

What was the answer? (Results)

1. What were the diagnoses and their probabilities?

2. How precise are these estimates of disease probability?

What did they say about the answer? (Conclusion)

1. Do the results of the study support the author/s conclusions?

2. Does the conclusion reflect the discussion?

3. Are there study limitations, and do these impact the conclusions?

4. Are potential discrepancies mentioned?

What do I do with this information?

1. Are the study patients similar to my own?

2. Is it unlikely that the disease possibilities or probabilities have changed since this evidence was gathered?