Asking for and locating evidence depends upon asking an effective clinical question.
Use the PICO mnemonic to build that question.
P = Patient Population Problem (includes demographic information)
I = Intervention Treatment Therapy Prognostic Factor Exposure
C = Comparison (could be placebo or no treatment)
O = Outcome (what you hope to accomplish; measurable)
P I C O
P -- patient, population, participant, problem (diagnosis)
I -- intervention, therapy, treatment
C -- comparison (not always required)
O -- outcome
P I C O T
P -- patient, population, participant, problem (diagnosis)
I -- intervention, therapy, treatment
C -- comparison (not always required)
O -- outcome
T -- time
P I C O (T)
P -- patient, population, participant, problem (diagnosis)
I -- intervention, therapy, treatment
C -- comparison (not always required)
O -- outcome
T -- type of studies or questions
P I C O T T
P -- patient, population, participant, problem (diagnosis)
I -- intervention, therapy, treatment
C -- comparison (not always required)
O -- outcome
T -- type of question
(therapy/treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, harm/etiology)
T -- type of study
(research method/design)
5 Types of PICO Questions
1. Diagnosis
2. Therapy (treatment / intervention)
3. Etiology (cause)
4. Prognosis (future / forecast)
5. Prevention
Diagnosis PICO:
In children with respiratory infection, is the respiratory rate as effective as chest x-ray in detecting pneumonia?
Prognosis PICO:
In premature infants (compared to full-term infants), what is the lifetime prevalence of hearing deficit?
Therapy PICO:
In patients with recurrent infection, do antibiotics, compared to no treatment, reduce recurrence rate?
Etiology PICO:
In post-menopausal women, does hormone replacement therapy increase the risk of breast cancer?
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Cochrane PICO Search overview