Problems of evidence-based medicine in psychopharmacotherapy: problems of evidence grading and of the evidence basis for complex clinical decision making

Abstract

Psychopharmacotherapy should now be regulated in the sense of evidence based medicine, as is the case in other areas of therapeutic medicine. In general, this is a meaningful development which will have a positive impact on routine health care. However, related problems should not be ignored. One important problem is the different definition of degrees of evidence. If placebo-controlled studies are prioritized, evidence deviates too much from the conditions of routine clinical care. However, the restriction to active comparative trials could lead to false conclusions about efficacy. In addition, if the focus is placed on the results of meta-analyses instead of considering relevant single studies, the result is a decision making logic contrary to that of the licensing process.Due to inherent methodological problems of the meta-analytical approach, the narrative, systematic review should retain its traditional importance and be used to provide a complementary view. Attempts to regulate psychopharmacotherapy in the sense of evidence based medicine come closer to their limits the more complex the clinical situation and the respective decision making logic are. Even in times of evidence based medicine, a large part of complex clinical decision making in psychopharmacotherapy still relies more on a consensus about clinical experience and traditions than on relevant empirical databases.