Evidence-based gastrointestinal medicine in horses: it's not about your gut instincts

Abstract

The use of an evidence-based approach allows veterinary clinicians to assess questions that are clinically relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of equine gastrointestinal tract disease. This approach involves formulating a clinical question, searching the literature, and answering the question with the best available evidence, with the results summarized as a clinical "bottom line." This article is organized to reinforce the principle that the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine is the clinical question. Specific questions are further categorized as to topic, with epidemiologic risk factors, diagnostic process, clinical examination, differential diagnosis, diagnostic tests, treatment, harm, prognosis, and prevention as general themes. The topics covered in this article are by no means exhaustive but give an example of how the veterinary literature can be used to answer clinically important questions in an evidence-based manner.