Hygiena 2021, 66(3):102-106 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1788

Robert Koch's postulates and contemporary evidence-based medicine

Vladimír Bencko
Univerzita Karlova, 1. lékařská fakulta, Ústav hygieny a epidemiologie a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice, Praha, Česká republika

Koch's main contribution to the principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM) was the formulation of his four postulates which helped to confirm the causal relationship between pathogenic microbes and infectious diseases, and in enabling credible diagnosis of such diseases through microscopy, inoculation and cultivation. A further stage in the development of EBM is represented by the Bradford Hill criteria, a group of nine principles applicable to non-transmissible diseases. The present discussion focuses on the limitations of EBM and its primary significance and use.

Keywords: evidence-based medicine (EBM), Robert Koch's postulates, Bradford Hill criteria, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases

Received: July 2021; Accepted: July 20, 2021; Published: September 24, 2021  Show citation

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Bencko V. Robert Koch's postulates and contemporary evidence-based medicine. Hygiena. 2021;66(3):102-106. doi: 10.21101/hygiena.a1788.
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