Users' Guide to the Surgical Literature: Case Control Studies in Orthopedic Surgery

Case-control studies are not common in the surgical literature. We present a users' guide for surgeons on case control studies in the surgical literature. In this paper, we use an orthopedic oncology case control study to direct our users' guide. We demonstrate a way that surgeons can adequately approach surgical case control studies to ensure they are relevant, valid and appropriate for their patients.