Evidence on prognosis.

In the clinical decision-making process, prognostic information affords providers substantial guidance regarding disease and treatment that can be passed along to patients. Using the clinical scenario of a type IIIB open tibial fracture as an example, this article focused on how to search prognostic literature effectively and how to critically appraise prognostic studies. A well-built clinical question using helps plastic surgeons to derive information from the vast resources in an effective and time efficient manner. Subsequent critical appraisal of the collected studies is the essential step to identifying the most relevant high-quality evidence, which will provide the best prognostic information to guide patient decision-making.