Evidence-based medicine: facts and controversies.

Evidence-based medicine is a paradigm shift in the biomedical field toward scientific-based clinical practice. It is recognized as the process of acquiring and applying into practice the best available research findings in a defined filed. Although the roots of evidenced-based medicine date back more than 150 years, the modern evidenced-based medicine concept has been rapidly and constantly developing in the past two decades. Since its introduction, evidenced-based medicine has simultaneously attracted proponents and critics. This contribution provides a critical overview of the major advantages and drawbacks of evidenced-based medicine. The discussion and the examples cover the field of biomedical research and dermatovenereology in particular. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.