Construct search statement
- patient
- medication action
- outcome
- level of evidence required
- other factors that might be important, e.g. date, agent specific or class level
Resources
Tertiary Resources
- direct pointers to specific primary literature
- in context, e.g. clinical case study, topic review, drug monograph
- quick way of identifying primary literature
- not necessarily comprehensive, up to date
- rely on the author(s) knowledge and monitoring of the literature
Examples
- Micromedex, eFacts
- Dynamed, UpToDate, MD Consult
- DiPiro's Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach
- Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
- FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
Secondary Resources
- comprehensive collections of primary literature
- usually offer precise ways of identifying primary literature
- continually updated
- not in clinical context
Examples
- PubMed
- EMBASE
- TRIP (Turning Research into Practice)
- National Guideline Clearinghouse
- Web of Science
- BIOSIS
- Other bibliographic databases
Primary Sources
- browse selected journals regularly (general and/or specialty)
- use automated systems if necessary
- journal clubs
- pointers to other primary sources
- reference section
- cited reference tracking
Summary of Tips
- get to know resources available to you and make a plan for incorporating their use in practice, including setting up a literature surveillance system (e.g. email alerts on topics or journal table of contents)
- use simple keyword search of drug name in PubMed
- to find acronym studies in PubMed, use the Corporate Name field [cn]. e.g. jupiter[cn]
- use Pharmacological Action field in PubMed to include all agents in the search, e.g. hydroxymethylglutaryl-coa reductase inhibitors[pa]
- make use of EMBASE's drug-specific subheadings
- free electronic articles through Jun 2009
- there is no one specific "right" way of searching for primary literature, just more efficient ways
Related Links
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Your Library Liaisons for the UW School of Pharmacy
and Clinical Pharmacy:
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http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/classes/pharm565/