This document provides guidance on developing a simple search strategy by breaking questions down into PICO elements (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). It demonstrates formulating search questions and strategies for two clinical scenarios using the PICO framework. Key steps include developing search terms for each PICO element, using Boolean operators and synonyms, as well as searching appropriate databases like PubMed. Guidelines are offered for evaluating search quality using tools like the PRESS checklist.

1. Search Strategy

2. Developing Simple Search Strategy
To develop simple search strategy …
1. Start with your question
2. Break it down into PICO (Population, Intervention(s),
Comparison(s), Outcome)

3. Example #1
A 28-year-old male presents with recurrent furunculosis (skin boils) for past 8 months; these
episodes have been treated with drainage and several courses of antibiotics but keep recurring.
He asks if recurrences can be prevented.
Formulate the Question
‘In patients with recurrent furunculosis, do prophylactic antibiotics, compared to
no treatment, reduce the recurrence rate?’
Break it down into PICO
P: Patients with recurrent furunculosis
I: Prophylactic antibiotics
C: No treatment
O: Reduction in recurrence rate of furunculosis

4. Starting Your Search (We will use pubmed)
• Start with this format
- (Population OR synonym #1 OR synonym #2) AND
- (Intervention OR synonym #1 OR synonym #2) AND
- (Comparator OR synonym #1 OR synonym #2) AND
- (Outcome OR synonym #1 OR synonym #2)
• Remember use Boolean searching

5. Example #2
A 57-year-old male presents with reduced central vision in both eyes (macular degeneration) for
past 6 months; he is afraid of losing his vision, which is better in preventing vision loss’ Lucentis
or Avastin?
Formulate the Question
‘For patients with choroidal neovascularization associated with age- related
macular degeneration, do intravitreal injections of Lucentis, when compared with
Avastin, prevent vision loss?
Break it down into PICO
P: Individuals with choroidal neovascularization associated with age-related
macular degeneration
I: Lucentis (ranibizumab)
C: Avastin (bevacizumab)
O: Change in visual acuity or visual field

6. DOING THE SEARCH

9. Keywords

13. Use the MH –
MeSH terms
in known articles
to build your
search strategy

14. Cochrane’s Sensitive Formulated Search
Strategy for RCTS
(randomized controlled trial [pt] OR controlled clinical
trial [pt] OR randomized [tiab] OR placebo [tiab] OR drug
therapy [sh] OR randomly [tiab] OR trial [tiab] OR groups
[tiab]) NOT (animals [mh] NOT humans [mh])

15. Cochrane’s Sensitive Formulated Search
Strategy for RCTS
(macular degeneration [mh] OR retinal degeneration [mh] OR retinal
neovascularization [mh] OR choroidal neovascularization [mh] OR
macula lutea [mh] OR maculopath* [tw] OR ((macul* [tw] OR retina*
[tw] OR choroid* [tw]) AND degener*.[tw]) OR ((macul* [tw] OR retina*
[tw] OR choroid* [tw]) AND neovasc* [tw]) OR macula* lutea [tw] )
P
AND
(angiogenesis inhibitors [mh] OR angiogenesis inducing agents [mh]
OR vascular endothelial growth factors [mh] (lucentis$ or
ranibizumab$ or bevacizumab$) [tw] OR anti VEGF* [tw] OR
endothelial growth factor* [tw])
I, C

16. The PRESS Checklist
On the basis of extensive research reviewing 26 different
tools for evaluating electronic searches, seven key criteria
for assessing search quality have been developed
(Sampson, et al., 2008)