Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41769465›Full record

ArticleCureus2026

Navigating Medicine's Uncertainties.

David W Frost

Abstract readEditorial
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

David W FrostGeneral Internal Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, CAN.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This editorial article is grounded in the bedside experience of uncertainty in medicine. It is a narrative, conceptual synthesis drawing extensively on evidence rather than a systematic review. It frames the ubiquity and relevance of uncertainty in medicine, summarizing some existing concepts and frameworks, also drawing from non-medical fields. Ambiguity is distinguished as a subtype of uncertainty, and some of what is known about the subjective experience of uncertainty is presented. This editorial summarizes some of the literature on communicating uncertainty effectively and explores the link between uncertainty and diagnostic reasoning and cognitive biases. It concludes with suggestions and practical tips for normalizing and grappling with this constant in our work lives.

Indexed as

ambiguitydiagnostic reasoningmedical educationpsychologyuncertainty

Identifiers

PMID41769465
PMCPMC12944113

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.