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Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine

Tips, techniques & links to help you find answers for your research papers & projects

Using PICO to Formulate Clinical Questions

PICO (alternately known as PICOT) is a mnemonic used to describe elements of a good clinical question. It stands for:

P: Patient / Population / Problem
I: Intervention
C: Comparison / Control group
O: Outcome

PICO Question: "In POPULATION, does INTERVENTION as compared to COMPARISON result in OUTCOME?

 

Some additionally add:

T: Time period 

PICOT Question: "In POPULATION, does INTERVENTION as compared to COMPARISON result in OUTCOME within TIME PERIOD?

 

Many people find that the PICO process helps them clarify their question, which in turn makes it easier to find an answer. 

Use PICO to generate terms -- you'll use some of the terms in your literature search for the current best evidence, and you'll use them in evaluating the information you do find.