SP0030 Beyond the recommendations: examples of systematic literature review in daily clinical practice

Recommendations and guidelines for management and treatment of rheumatic diseases exist to help rheumatologists deliver optimal care for their patients in an evidence-based way. However, not all practical questions and medical difficulties encountered by rheumatologists in daily clinical practice can be addressed using these existing guidelines. Moreover, time in practice is limited and usually does not allow for extensive systematic literature research to find evidence regarding a specific medical question that needs answering in due time. Therefore, an essential skill for doctors and those in training, besides medical knowledge and examination skills, is to be able to search for, withdraw and appraise published evidence applicable to a confined topic. A so called CAT – critically appraised topic – is a compact systematic literature research following a strictly formulated PICO to answer a clinical question encountered in daily practice. Results can be presented in department meetings and stored in a database for education purposes and use in daily practice. This presentation will address the structure, the carrying out, as well as important pros and cons of the CAT. Examples will be given drawn from the experience of young rheumatologists in training in the Netherlands.\n\nDisclosure of Interest None declared