Slides

This slide set is based on the research presented in a comparative effectiveness review (CER), Effectiveness of Early Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Clostridium difficile Infection, that was developed by the Minnesota Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, MD (Contract No. 290-02-0009-EPC2). CERs represent systematic reviews of the literature and usually compare two or more types of treatments, such as different drugs, devices, or procedures for the same disease. The methods used to develop this CER followed version 1.0 of the Methods Reference Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews published by AHRQ (draft available at: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/repFiles/2007_10DraftMethodsGuide.pdf).

This activity will cover the current evidence from several electronic databases (through August 2011), grey literature, trial registries, and reference lists. The comparative effectiveness review process will be discussed briefly, including the specific questions addressed in this CER and the results from this research. Finally, the data that is most applicable to clinicians and policy decisionmakers are presented.