The document provides tips for searching the literature to answer clinical questions. It recommends identifying the problem, defining a structured question, and finding the best evidence. It discusses using databases like CRD, which contains reviews from DARE, NHS EED and HTA. The search process involves searching for the patient/pathology concept first using MeSH terms, then searching for the therapy concept. Combining concepts with Boolean operators can help find the most relevant evidence.

1. Tips to search the literature
Example with CRD
Patrice CHALON, Msc
Knowledge manager, Centre fédéral d'expertise des soins de santé (KCE)
2010-09-10 1Patrice X. Chalon

2. Approach
1. Identify your problem
2. Define a structured question
3. Find the best evidence
4. How valid is the study?
5. What are the results?
6. How should I apply the results to patient care?
Source: Guyatt G, Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. Users' guides to the medical literature : a manual for evidence-based clinical practice. 2nd ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008.
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3. 1. IDENTIFY YOUR PROBLEM
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4. Example
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5. 2. DEFINE A
STRUCTURED QUESTION
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6. Example
Source : Horsmans Y, Thiry N, le Polain M, Adler M, Colle I, Delwaide J, Michielsen P, Orlent H, Van Damme P, Hulstaert F. Rapport coût-efficacité
du traitement antiviral de l’hépatite B chronique en Belgique. Partie 1: Examen de la littérature et résultats d’une étude nationale. Health Technology
Assessment (HTA). Bruxelles: Centre fédéral d’expertise des soins de santé (KCE). 2010. KCE Reports 127B. D/2010/10.2738/23.
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7. Example (cont.)
(CHB OR (Hepatitis B
ADJ2 Chronic*))
AND
(NA OR (Nuclo?ide ADJ2
analogue) OR (Interferon
ADJ3 therap*))
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8. 3. FIND THE BEST EVIDENCE
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9. Databases for economic evaluations
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10. CRD DATABASES
HTA DATABASE, NHS EED, DARE
http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/crdweb/
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11. CRD fact sheet
Producer Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University
of York (UK)
Content DARE contains 15,000 abstracts of systematic reviews
including over 6,000 quality assessed reviews and details of all
Cochrane reviews and protocols.
NHS EED contains 24,000 abstracts of health economics
papers including over 7,000 quality assessed economic
evaluations.
DARE and NHS EED include details of abstracts in the
process of being written and these can be 'fast-tracked' on
request.
HTA brings together details of over 8,000 completed and
ongoing health technology assessments from around the
world.
Indexation Medical Subject headings (MeSH), updated annually manual
indexation based on full text reading
Source : http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/crdweb/
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12. Example
Source : Horsmans Y, Thiry N, le Polain M, Adler M, Colle I, Delwaide J, Michielsen P, Orlent H, Van Damme P, Hulstaert F. Rapport coût-efficacité
du traitement antiviral de l’hépatite B chronique en Belgique. Partie 1: Examen de la littérature et résultats d’une étude nationale. Health Technology
Assessment (HTA). Bruxelles: Centre fédéral d’expertise des soins de santé (KCE). 2010. KCE Reports 127B. D/2010/10.2738/23.
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13. Search 1st
concept (patient / pathology)
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14. Check MeSH term
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15. Results
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16. Search : 2nd
concept (therapy)
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17. Strategies
Source : Horsmans Y, Thiry N, le Polain M, Adler M, Colle I, Delwaide J, Michielsen P, Orlent H, Van Damme P, Hulstaert F. Rapport coût-efficacité
du traitement antiviral de l’hépatite B chronique en Belgique. Partie 1: Examen de la littérature et résultats d’une étude nationale. Health Technology
Assessment (HTA). Bruxelles: Centre fédéral d’expertise des soins de santé (KCE). 2010. KCE Reports 127B. D/2010/10.2738/23.
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18. Thank you!
Copyrights: This work is released under Creative Commons License
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