Evidence-based medicine: What on earth does it have to do with endoscopy? And, is it the new "three-letter" word in endoscopic research?

Evidence-based medicine is a learnable and useful tool that should be an integral part of our clinical and research practices. Many endoscopists were practicing EBM long before the term was introduced in the early 1990s; it was and always has been the ability to incorporate into clinical practice endoscopic technology and techniques that are of proven value based on high-quality endoscopic research. Data of this type are dependent on the ability of the endoscopic investigator to understand that certain elements of trial design are necessary to prove hypotheses and thus allow for a given procedure or technique to be accepted into clinical practice. Evidence-based medicine is here to stay, is becoming more and more evident in endoscopic research, is a necessary tool for the clinician and researcher alike but never will be the end all/be all in clinical decision making.