Preface

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), through its Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs), sponsors the development of systematic reviews to assist public- and private-sector organizations in their efforts to improve the quality of health care in the United States. These reviews provide comprehensive, science-based information on common, costly medical conditions, and new health care technologies and strategies.

Systematic reviews are the building blocks underlying evidence-based practice; they focus attention on the strength and limits of evidence from research studies about the effectiveness and safety of a clinical intervention. In the context of developing recommendations for practice, systematic reviews can help clarify whether assertions about the value of the intervention are based on strong evidence from clinical studies. For more information about AHRQ EPC systematic reviews, see www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/reference/purpose.cfm.

AHRQ expects that these systematic reviews will be helpful to health plans, providers, purchasers, government programs, and the health care system as a whole. Transparency and stakeholder input are essential to the Effective Health Care Program. Please visit the Web site (www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov) to see draft research questions and reports or to join an email list to learn about new program products and opportunities for input.

We welcome comments on this systematic review. They may be sent by mail to the Task Order Officer named below at: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850, or by email to vog.shh.qrha@cpe.

• Richard Kronick, Ph.D.
  Director
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Stephanie Chang, M.D., M.P.H.
  Director, EPC Program
  Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• David Meyers, M.D.
  Acting Director
  Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• William Lawrence, M.D., M.S.
  Task Order Officer
  Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality