The application of evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) can assist in improving and optimising the diagnosis, prognosis, control, treatment and ultimately the welfare of animals. It can also provide the user with a methodology for appropriate, patient orientated life-long, self-directed, learning. To practise evidence-based veterinary medicine we require a range of skills that we may not have.

This book will explain what evidence-based veterinary medicine is and show how it can be applied to veterinary practice to improve the quality of care for patients and provide informed choices for owners. It will provide the reader with a toolkit of skills necessary to practise evidence-based veterinary medicine.

The authors explain how to:

· Transform information needs into a series of clinical questions that can be answered

· Search for best available external evidence

· Critically appraise the evidence for its validity and importance

· Apply the results in clinical practice

· Understand the process of diagnosis and use of clinical diagnostic decision support systems

· Perform a decision analysis

This book is aimed at practitioners but will be of interest to veterinary surgeons at any stage of their training or career wishing to learn about EBVM.

The authors are responsible for devising and teaching an EBVM course at the veterinary school at Cambridge.

Dr Peter Cockcroft, Clinical lecturer, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge.