Treating COVID-19: Evolving approaches to evidence in a pandemic

The rapid pace of the COVID-19 pandemic precluded traditional approaches to evaluating clinical research and guidelines. We highlight notable successes and pitfalls of clinicians’ new approaches to managing evidence amidst an unprecedented crisis. In “Era 1” (early 2020), clinicians relied on anecdote and social media, which democratized conversations on guidelines, but also led clinicians astray. “Era 2” (approximately late 2020 to early 2021) saw preprints that accelerated new interventions but suffered from a surfeit of poor-quality data. In the current era, clinicians consolidate the evidentiary gains of Era 2 with living, online clinical guidelines, but the public suffers from misinformation. The COVID-19 pandemic is a laboratory on how clinicians adapt to an absence of clinical guidance amidst an informational and healthcare crisis. Challenges remain as we integrate new approaches to innovations made in the traditional guideline process to confront both the long tail of COVID-19 and future pandemics.