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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 May 13.
Published in final edited form as: J Am Coll Surg. 2011 Jul 28;213(4):543–551. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2011.07.001

Table 2.

Description of scientific levels of evidence and corresponding studies 5.

Level of Evidence Description
Level 1 Randomized controlled trials with adequate follow-up
Meta analysis of multiple randomized control trials
Level 2 Non-randomized, controlled prospective trial
Prospective cohort studies
Level 3 Well designed observational studies (e.g. comparative studies, correlation study, case control study)
Level 4 Retrospective observational studies without controls
Case-series
Level 5 Expert opinions or committee recommendations