Table 1.

Example of an evidence profile quality assessment given to the evaluators for them to grade in the pilot study. Example question: Should depressed patients in primary care be treated with SSRIs rather than tricyclics?

Outcome: Depression severity (measured with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale)
Studies	Design	Quality	Consistency	Directness
8 trials Citalopram 38 trials Fluoxetine 25 trials Fluvoxamine 2 trials Nefazodone 18 trials Paroxetine 4 trials Sertaline 4 trials Velafaxine	RCTs	No serious flaws	No important inconsistency	Some uncertainty about relevance (outcome measure)
Outcome: Transient side effects (drop-out from 6 week treatment)
8 trials Citalopram 50 trials Fluoxetine 27 trials Fluvoxamine 4 trials Nefazodone 23 trials Paroxetine 6 trials Sertaline 5 trials Velafaxine	RCTs	No serious flaws	No important inconsistency	Some uncertainty about relevance (outcome measure)
Outcome: Poisoning fatalities
Office for National Statistics (British)	Observational data (national statistics)	Serious flaw, population based Reporting bias	Only one study	Direct