Revista de Calidad Asistencial en MEDLINE / No disponible

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Technical development of PubMed interact: an improved interface for MEDLINE/PubMed searches.

BACKGROUND: The project aims to create an alternative search interface for MEDLINE/PubMed that may provide assistance to the novice user and added convenience to the advanced user. An earlier version of the project was the 'Slider Interface for MEDLINE/PubMed searches' (SLIM) which provided JavaScript slider bars to control search parameters. In this new version, recent developments in Web-based technologies were implemented. These changes may prove to be even more valuable in enhancing user interactivity through client-side manipulation and management of results. RESULTS: PubMed Interact is a Web-based MEDLINE/PubMed search application built with HTML, JavaScript and PHP. It is implemented on a Windows Server 2003 with Apache 2.0.52, PHP 4.4.1 and MySQL 4.1.18. PHP scripts provide the backend engine that connects with E-Utilities and parses XML files. JavaScript manages client-side functionalities and converts Web pages into interactive platforms using dynamic HTML (DHTML), Document Object Model (DOM) tree manipulation and Ajax methods. With PubMed Interact, users can limit searches with JavaScript slider bars, preview result counts, delete citations from the list, display and add related articles and create relevance lists. Many interactive features occur at client-side, which allow instant feedback without reloading or refreshing the page resulting in a more efficient user experience. CONCLUSION: PubMed Interact is a highly interactive Web-based search application for MEDLINE/PubMed that explores recent trends in Web technologies like DOM tree manipulation and Ajax. It may become a valuable technical development for online medical search applications.

Can electronic search engines optimize screening of search results in systematic reviews: an empirical study.

BACKGROUND: Most electronic search efforts directed at identifying primary studies for inclusion in systematic reviews rely on the optimal Boolean search features of search interfaces such as DIALOG and Ovid. Our objective is to test the ability of an Ultraseek search engine to rank MEDLINE records of the included studies of Cochrane reviews within the top half of all the records retrieved by the Boolean MEDLINE search used by the reviewers. METHODS: Collections were created using the MEDLINE bibliographic records of included and excluded studies listed in the review and all records retrieved by the MEDLINE search. Records were converted to individual HTML files. Collections of records were indexed and searched through a statistical search engine, Ultraseek, using review-specific search terms. Our data sources, systematic reviews published in the Cochrane library, were included if they reported using at least one phase of the Cochrane Highly Sensitive Search Strategy (HSSS), provided citations for both included and excluded studies and conducted a meta-analysis using a binary outcome measure. Reviews were selected if they yielded between 1000-6000 records when the MEDLINE search strategy was replicated. RESULTS: Nine Cochrane reviews were included. Included studies within the Cochrane reviews were found within the first 500 retrieved studies more often than would be expected by chance. Across all reviews, recall of included studies into the top 500 was 0.70. There was no statistically significant difference in ranking when comparing included studies with just the subset of excluded studies listed as excluded in the published review. CONCLUSION: The relevance ranking provided by the search engine was better than expected by chance and shows promise for the preliminary evaluation of large results from Boolean searches. A statistical search engine does not appear to be able to make fine discriminations concerning the relevance of bibliographic records that have been pre-screened by systematic reviewers.

Lithium augmentation therapy in refractory depression-update 2002.

Lithium has been used to augment the efficacy of antidepressant medications for more than 20 years. The present study examines whether evidence exists to support the clinical efficacy of lithium augmentation in refractory, treatment resistant depression. Studies were identified by searching Medline (1980 to August 2002) and by scanning the references of published reviews and standard textbooks. Studies were selected if they were open-labeled or double-blind, placebo-controlled or comparator trials that involved patients who had not responded to conventional antidepressants. 27 prospective studies were identified that included a total of 803 depressed patients displaying the following designs: 10 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, 2 randomized, double-blind comparator trials, 2 randomized, open comparator trials, and 13 open-label trials. The majority of randomized controlled trials has demonstrated substantial efficacy of lithium augmentation in partial and non responders to antidepressant treatment. In the placebo-controlled trials, the response rate in the lithium group was 45% and in the placebo group 18% (p<0.001). Summarizing all open and controlled studies, approximately 50% of patients responded to lithium augmentation within 4 weeks. In conclusion, lithium is the foremost and most well-documented augmentation strategy in refractory depression.Therefore, it should be considered a first-line treatment strategy in patients with major depression who do not adequately respond to standard antidepressants.

La autocitación en la revista radiología: un parámetro de calidad / Rate of self-referencing in the journal Radiología: An indicator of quality

Objetivo: La autocitación, considerada como el número de veces que una revista científica se cita a sí misma en las referencias bibliográicas de sus artículos, es un importante criterio de calidad.Nuestro objetivo es analizar la autocitación en la revista Radiología.Material y método: Se analizaron los artículos publicados en Radiología durante el período 1994-1998, calculando el Índice de citas a Radiología (ICR) y el Índice de artículos que citan a Radiología (IAR). Estos índices se calcularon también en European Radiology (Índice de citas a European Radiology ICER- e Índice de artículos que citan a European Radiology IAER-), revista incluida en el Index Medicus, durante un año (1998).Resultados: El ICR en el período 1994-1998 osciló entre el 1,5 por ciento y el 1,9 por ciento. En 1998 el ICR fue del 1,8 por ciento mientras que el ICER fue sólo del 0,9 por ciento. Las diferencias entre el ICR e ICER fueron estadísticamente significativas (p = 0,02). Con referencia al IAR en 1998, este fue también superior al obtenido en European Radiology (IAR: 2,3 por ciento frente a IAER: 1,6 por ciento).Conclusiones: Los autores que publican en Radiología tienen un índice más elevado de autocitación que los que lo hacen en European Radiology, estando esta última revista incluida en el Index Medicus y su Base de Datos Medline (AU)

MEDLINE: the options for health professionals.

The bibliographic database MEDLINE, produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), is a computerized index to the world's biomedical literature. The database can be searched back to 1966 and contains 6.8 million records. The various means of access are divided, for the purposes of this article, into three categories: logging onto a remote host computer by telephone and modem or by the Internet; subscribing to part or all of the database on compact disc (CD-ROM); and leasing the data on a transport medium such as magnetic tape or CDs for loading on a local host computer. Decisions about which method is preferable in a given situation depend on cost, availability of hardware and software, local expertise, and the size of the intended user population. Trends include increased access to the Internet by health professionals, increased network speed, links from MEDLINE records to full-text databases or online journals, and integration of MEDLINE into wider health information systems.

[Computer-assisted ENT medical literature search and literature management--a report of experiences]. / Computergestützte HNO-ärztliche Literatursuche und Literaturverwaltung--ein Erfahrungsbericht.

The increasing number of medical articles calls for a computer-aided system for literature database programs, literature retrieval and bibliography systems. We report an assessment of a dedicated modem line to DIMDI of Cologne (an institute offering a variety of biomedical, psychological and other literature databases), Medline on Silverplatter, Current Contents on disk and the Papyrus bibliography system. The databases with retrieval software are installed on a IBM-compatible PC (386 with an 80MB hard disc) and 4 CD-ROM players. Medline contains bibliographic citations and abstracts of biomedical literature; Current Contents on disk with its weekly update provides citations of articles published very recently; and the Papyrus bibliography system maintains a permanent collection of reference citations. When linked to a word processor, Papyrus can automatically read the manuscript, create a bibliography and produce a new copy of the manuscript in which the citations have been appropriately edited, and the references can be printed in any desired format. Although not without drawbacks, the configuration described here proved to be a valuable, time-saving tool to access citations precisely.