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| CME |
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| Year : 2008 | Volume
: 54
| Issue : 3 | Page : 217-221 |
Promotional literature: How do we critically appraise?
VV Shetty1, AV Karve2
1 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai-400 012, India
2 TN Medical College & BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central, Mumbai-400 008, India
Correspondence Address:
V V Shetty
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai-400 012
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0022-3859.41807
There has been a tremendous increase in the number of new and generic drugs coming into the market. The busy practitioner obtains the information from various sources, of which promotional literature forms an important source. The promotional literature provided by the pharmaceutical companies cannot be entirely relied upon; moreover, very few physicians are equipped with the skills of critically appraising it. The new drug should be relevant to the clinician's practice in terms of population studied, the disease and the need for new treatment. The methodology of the study should be carefully judged to determine the authenticity of the evidence. The new drug should be preferred over the existing one if it offers clear advantages in terms of safety, tolerability, efficacy and price. Critical appraisal of promotional literature can provide valuable information to the busy physician to practice evidence-based medicine.
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