Health Professions Division Library

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Resources {revision T.Puccio 3/09}

Evidence-Based Medicine is the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. (Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, et al. Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2000.)

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TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Database Plus

Simultaneously searches evidence-based sources of systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and critically-appraised topics and articles -- including most of those listed above and many more. Also searches MEDLINE�s Clinical Queries, medical image databases, e-textbooks, and patient information leaflets.

Filtered Resources

Filtered resources appraise the quality of studies and often make recommendations for practice.

Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses

Authors of a systematic review ask a specific clinical question, perform a comprehensive literature search, eliminate the poorly done studies and attempt to make practice recommendations based on the well-done studies. A meta-analysis is a systematic review that combines all the results of all the studies into a single statistical analysis of results.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Consists of detailed, structured topic reviews of hundreds of articles. Teams of experts complete comprehensive literature reviews, evaluate the literature, and present summaries of the findings of the best studies. Published by the International Cochrane Collaboration.

The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effect (DARE)

Full-text database containing structured abstracts of systematic reviews from a variety of medical journals. DARE is produced by the National Health Services' Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (NHS CRD) at the University of York. DARE records cover topics such as diagnosis, prevention, rehabilitation, screening, and treatment.

PEDro

Systematic Reviews are also searchable in MEDLINE and other medical databases:

MEDLINE from PubMed: This strategy is intended to retrieve citations identified as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, reviews of clinical trials, evidence-based medicine, consensus development conferences, guidelines, and citations to articles from journals specializing in review studies of value to clinicians. This subset can be used in a search as systematic [sb].
Example: exercise hypertension AND systematic [sb]
This subset is available on the Limits screen under "Subsets." It is also available on the Clinical Queries screen.
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MEDLINE from OVID: Enter your search query. Click on the �Edit Limits� icon; then select �Systematic Reviews� under �Subject Subsets".
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MEDLINE from EBSCO: Pre-set Limits in the "Subject Subset" selection box (lower right hand side) to �Systematic Reviews�

EMBASE (includes MEDLINE ): Choose "Advanced Search" on the Left hand side then - Choose "More Limits" in the search area. There are Pre-set Limits in the "Evidence Based Medicine" selection box (lower left hand side). Choose "Systematic Reviews� and/or "Meta Analysis"

ISI Web of Knowledge (includes MEDLINE ): Do your search with keywords by "Topic" . Add the keywords "Systematic Review" or "Meta Analysis"

Critically-Appraised Topics

Authors of critically-appraised topics evaluate and synthesize multiple research studies.

Clinical Evidence

Summarizes the current state of knowledge about the prevention and treatment of clinical conditions, based on thorough searches and appraisal of the literature. It describes the best available evidence from systematic reviews, RCTs, and observational studies where appropriate, and if there is no good evidence it says so.

UpToDate
A clinical information resource, which offers up-to-date, fully referenced expert answers to patient-care, diagnosis, and treatment questions. Topic reviews are written by recognized authorities who review the topic, synthesize the evidence, summarize key findings, and provide specific recommendations.

MD-CONSULT Clinical Guidelines

Contains many standard practice Guidelines that are published from various organizations.

National Guideline Clearinghouse

A comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents produced by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans. Updated weekly.

Note: Guideline evidence varies from expert opinion to high levels of evidence.

Natural Standard

An international research collaboration that aggregates and synthesizes data on complementary and alternative therapies. Using a comprehensive methodology and reproducible grading scales, information is created that is evidence-based, consensus-based, and peer-reviewed, tapping into the collective expertise of a multidisciplinary Editorial Board. The mission of this collaboration is to provide objective, reliable information that aids clinicians, patients, and healthcare institutions to make more informed and safer therapeutic decisions. Natural Standard is widely recognized as one of the world�s premier sources of information in this area.

Critically-Appraised Individual Articles

Authors of critically-appraised individual articles evaluate and synopsize individual research studies.

The ACP Journal Club

The editors of this journal screen the top 100+ clinical journals and identify studies that are methodologically sound and clinically relevant. An enhanced abstract, with conclusions clearly stated, and a commentary are provided for each selected article. Published by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.

Bandolier

Bandolier is an independent journal about evidence-based healthcare published in the UK. It includes �information about evidence of effectiveness (or lack of it), and put[s] the results forward as simple bullet points of those things that worked and those that did not: a bandolier with bullets. Information comes from systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomised trials, and from high quality observational studies.�

bmjupdates

Quality articles from over 110 clinical journals are selected by research staff, and then rated for clinical relevance and interest by an international group of physicians. Includes a searchable database of the best evidence from the medical literature and an email alerting system. From BMJ Publishing Group and McMaster University's Health Information Research Unit.

�Evidence-Based�� Journal series

(e.g., Evidence-Based Medicine, Evidence-Based Mental Health, Evidence-Based Nursing) Primary research articles within the discipline are selected for quality and clinical relevance. A structured abstract and expert commentary are provided for each study.

Check the NSU e-journals list for links to all electronic journal titles.

Unfiltered Resources

Evidence is not always available via filtered resources. Searching the primary literature may be required. It is possible to use specific search strategies in MEDLINE and other databases to achieve the highest possible level of evidence.

Medline

MEDLINE from PubMed
PubMed/MEDLINE is the pre-eminent biomedical database in the world, covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy/pharmacology, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. The PubMed/MEDLINE database is compromised of bibliographic citations and abstracts from more than 4,900 biomedical journals, containing more than 17 million citations dating back to the mid-1800s.
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MEDLINE from OVID
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MEDLINE from EBSCO

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EMBASE (includes MEDLINE )
Major biomedical and pharmaceutical database covering drug research, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, public health, occupational health, environmental health, drug dependence and abuse, psychiatry, forensic medicine, and biomedical engineering/instrumentation. Produced by Excerpta Medica and updated weekly.

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ISI Web of Knowledge (includes MEDLINE )

PsycINFO
International coverage of the professional and academic literature in psychology, medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas.
To limit your PsycINFO search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on the �Limits� icon to use �Clinical Queries� or limit to �methodology� types.

CINAHL
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
To limit your CINAHL search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on the �Limits� icon to use �Clinical Queries� or limit to �Research� or other �publication� types (i.e., systematic review).

Background Information/Expert Opinion

Note: Evidence in these resources may vary from expert opinion to high levels of evidence.

UpToDate
A clinical information resource, which offers up-to-date, fully referenced expert answers to patient-care, diagnosis, and treatment questions. Topic reviews are written by recognized authorities who review the topic, synthesize the evidence, summarize key findings, and provide specific recommendations.

eBooks
Full-text electronic books published throughout many disciplines that are identified as "Evidence-Based", available thru the Health Professions Division Library. Remotely accessible.
Harrison's Online
Searchable and continually updated version of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine.
ACP Medicine
Electronic textbook of general medicine; updated continually.

Evidence-Based Medicine Information Sites

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford University)
The Centre promotes evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them. Includes the EBM Toolbox, an assortment of materials which are very useful for practitioners of EBM, and EBM Teaching Materials, including PowerPoint presentations.
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Toronto)
Includes many resources for practicing and teaching EBM.
Evidence-Based Medicine
A selective list of additional EBM websites developed and maintained by Duke University Medical Center Library.
Netting the Evidence
From the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield, UK. Includes a comprehensive list of EBM databases, journals, articles, and other information sources.
Users' Guides to Evidence-Based Practice
From the University of Alberta's Centre for Health Evidence. Includes the complete set of EBM Users' Guides originally published as a series in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Evidence-Based Medicine Tutorials

Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine
From Duke University Medical Center Library and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Sciences Library.
SUNY Health Sciences Evidence-Based Medicine Course

Evidence-Based Medicine Resources for PDA

Evidence-Based Medicine Resources for the PDA
A list of resources from the Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries.