Comparative effectiveness of angiotensin-convertingenzyme inhibitors

Abstract

"Although large randomized clinical trials remain the foundation for informing evidence-based prescribing, vast data sources can provide insight into complex questions that arise in clinical decision-making. Using tens of thousands to millions of patients, registries and administrative databases now serve as the “living textbooks” envisioned more than 40 years ago.1 Common clinical questions can now be readily addressed because of the marked advances in clinical data informatics and the application of information technology to clinical care. As an example of this wealth of data, in this issue of CMAJ, Pilote and colleagues2 use administrative databases of hospital discharges and prescription claims to study the comparative effectiveness of angiotensin-converting-enzyme"