Don’t be the first to accept a new therapy, nor the last to abondon an old one

Article Outline

• Copyright

It is logical and not uncommon for clinicians to change their behavior based on the “latest article.” This change in behavior may not be appropriate for every clinical situation or clinician. In this issue of The Journal, Clyman et al evaluated the use of Indomethacin prophylaxis for preterm infants and studied the impact of two large, multicentered randomized controlled trials on clinical practice. Not surprisingly, the use of Indomethacin increased or decreased coincidentally with the decrease or increase of surgical ligations. The authors point out that this change in treatment may or may not be appropriate depending upon the clinical situation. Clinicians should be mindful of their own circumstances and the impact on patient care before blindly following the advice of large clinical trials.