Objective: To illustrate how research findings can be used to inform the management of an individual patient.
Methods: A case scenario of a 29-year-old pregnant woman with a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) evoked a search of the PubMed database resulting in one randomized controlled trial (RCT) relevant to conservative versus surgical treatment. No systematic reviews were found. We appraised the RCT for its validity, importance, and applicability to informing a treatment plan for the patient.
Results: Surgical intervention for TOS was found to be favorable over conservative treatment. Combining the results with our patient’s clinical state and circumstances, we concluded that conservative therapy for the duration of her pregnancy should be recommended. Progressive neurological deficits or lack of symptom improvement six months post-partum would indicate a referral to her family physician for further evaluation and management.
Conclusion: We applied evidence from 1 recent RCT in formulating a management plan for a case of TOS.
Author keywords: Evidence-Based Case Report; Evidence-Based Practice; Thoracic Outlet Syndrome; Chiropractic
This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. Click on the above link for free full text.
|
