Literature-searching strategies to improve the application of evidence-based clinical practice principles to stroke care.

The field of cerebrovascular disease is evolving more rapidly than ever. New evidence from primary research in stroke is available and should be guiding global changes in practice. Instead, there is a disappointing and ever-widening evidence-practice gap. Busy health care practitioners are encouraged to practice evidence-based medicine, but their skills in this field are deficient. The purpose of this article is to provide the steps necessary to quickly, efficiently, and independently locate high-quality, valid evidence-based information on stroke that can be applied in a point-of-care setting. A discussion of secondary stroke prevention highlights these steps.