Gustavo Lacerda

In order to avoid pains of the heart, men will suffer pains of pretty much every other body part. A new study out of Scotland's University of Stirling reports that men will withstand more pain without complaint when they are being tortured by a woman rather than a man. In the experimental setup, a 21-year-old woman dressed in a skirt and high heels put pressure on the chests of college males. The boys reported much higher pain thresholds than they did when a male researcher turned up the pressure. The researchers say the males may have been trying to appear macho in front of the woman. They also allow for the possibility that the men were just distracted from their suffering by a hot chick in skimpy clothing. The results worry the researchers, who said they are concerned male hospital patients may underreport their pain to female doctors and nurses.

# Evidence-based medicine (EBM) integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information.
# There are four steps in incorporating the best available research evidence in decision making: asking answerable questions; accessing the best information; appraising the information for validity and relevance; and applying the information to patient care.
# Applying EBM to individual patients requires drawing up a balance sheet of benefits and harms based on research and individual patient data.
# The most realistic and efficient use of EBM by clinicians at the point of care involves accessing and applying valid and relevant summaries of research evidence (evidence-based guidelines and systematic reviews).
# The future holds promise for improved primary research, better EBM summaries, greater access to these summaries, and better implementation systems for evidence-based practice.
# Computer-assisted decision support tools for clinicians facilitate integration of individual patient data with the best available research data.