The Embase UK filter: validation of a geographic search filter to retrieve research about the UK from OVID Embase.

BACKGROUND: The authors developed a validated geographic search filter to retrieve research about the United Kingdom (UK) from OVID Embase. It was created to be used alongside their previously published OVID MEDLINE UK filter in systematic literature searches for context-sensitive topics. OBJECTIVES: To develop a validated geographic search filter to retrieve research about the UK from OVID Embase. METHODS: The Embase UK filter was translated from the MEDLINE UK filter. A gold standard set of references was generated using the relative recall method. The set contained references to publications about the UK that had informed National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and it was used to validate the filter. Recall, precision and number-needed-to-read (NNR) were calculated using a case study. RESULTS: The validated Embase UK filter demonstrated 99.8% recall against the references with UK identifiers in the gold standard set. In the case study, the Embase UK filter demonstrated 98.5% recall, 7.6% precision and a NNR of 13. CONCLUSION: The Embase UK filter can be used alongside the MEDLINE UK filter. The filters have the potential to save time and associated resource costs when they are used for context-sensitive topics that require research about UK settings.

Place of the "Public health" in the Tunisian medical research on the cardiovascular diseases: a bibliometric study (Medline: 1988-2017).

BACKGROUND:   The management of the cardiovascular diseases, main public health problem in Tunisia, is generating many difficulties that a socially responsible research should reflect them. The aim of this study is to assess dimensions of public health of Tunisian research on the cardiovascular diseases during thirty last years. METHODS: we conducted a bibliometric study relating to the public health information of the Tunisian cardiovascular papers indexed in the Medline database between January 1st 1988 and December 31st 2017. The following qualifiers were selected to define the public health dimension of paper: "epidemiology", "mortality", "statistics and numerical data", "economy", and "prevention and control". RESULTS: During thirty years (1988-2017), 176 references were identified and only 136 Tunisian publications were retained following the application of the inclusion criteria (first author affiliated in a Tunisian structure of health or research). The two medical specialties of "cardiology" and "Preventive medicine and Community" produced 47% of these articles. The selected publications were mainly original articles, monocentric studies, analytical, and written in French language for the national journal "La Tunisie Medicale". Among the 136 selected articles, 34 (25%) explored the ischemic heart diseases. "Epidemiology" and the "Prevention/Control" were two dimensions of the "Public health" the most studied in the Tunisian publications on the cardiovascular diseases, respectively in 84% and 44% of the cases. CONCLUSION: The Tunisian publications in the cardiovascular field accompanied the epidemiologic transition along the three last decades. While they were focusing on the epidemiology and the prevention of the ischemic heart diseases. Other dimensions of public health must be treated on the set of the cardiovascular diseases, such as the economics and etiologics studies.

La investigación biomédica sobre abuso de sustancias a través de la base de datos Medline (2006-2010) / No disponible

El Abuso de sustancias es uno de los principales problemas sociales y de salud pública a escala mundial. Este estudio analiza la investigación científica sobre los trastornos relacionados con sustancias generado a lo largo del período 2006-2010 así como sus implicaciones sociales. A partir de los artículos científicos de la base de datos Medline relacionados con seis de las principales sustancias de abuso (alcohol, tabaco, opioides, cocaína, marihuana y anfetaminas) se construyó una base de datos mediante el procesamiento de la información bibliográfica de los artículos recuperados. Asimismo se efectuó un análisis cuantitativo de los términos MeSH asignados a los documentos considerando los siguientes aspectos: descriptores, enfermedades, género, edad, países y catálogo MeSH. Se han identificado 52.175 documentos. El 55,18% de ellos están relacionados con trastornos por consumo de tabaco; 38,63% se vinculan con trastornos relacionados con el alcohol; 6,45% con los trastornos relacionados con los opioides; 4,1% para los trastornos relacionados con la cocaína; 2,64% para el abuso de la marihuana y el 1,84% a los trastornos relacionados con las anfetaminas. La Epidemiología y la Psicología son las principales áreas asignadas a los documentos. Cabe resaltar que la atención investigadora ha pasado de estar centrada en las pasadas décadas en los aspectos farmacológicos y el tratamiento, a incidir en la prevención, la identificación de los efectos adversos y los factores de riesgo. Así la exposición prenatal al consumo de sustancias, la salud pública (tabaco y alcohol) y la detección de abuso de drogas (opiáceos, cocaína, marihuana y anfetaminas) son otras áreas de investigación remarcables

Substance abuse is one of the main social and public health problems worldwide. This study analyzes scientific research on substance-related disorders generated throughout the 2006-2010 period and its social implications. Scientific papers from Medline database involving the main substances abused (alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, opioids, marijuana and amphetamine) were taken into account. A database was constructed by processing bibliographic information of retrieved items. A quantitative analysis of the MeSH terms assigned to the documents was carried out by classifying the following topics: qualifiers, diseases, gender, age related terms, countries and generalized MeSH. 52,175 documents were identified. 55.18% of these are related to tobacco use disorders; 38.63% to alcohol-related disorders; 6.45% to opioid-related disorders; 4.1% to cocainerelated disorders; 2.64% to marijuana abuse and 1.84% to amphetamine-related disorders. Epidemiology and psychology are the main generalized terms assigned to the documents. It should be stressed that the research focus has shifted from pharmacological aspects and treatment in the past decades, to influence the prevention, identification of adverse effects and risk factors. Pregnancy disorders and prenatal exposure to substance use,public health (tobacco and alcohol) and substance abuse detection (opioids, cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines) are other research areas to be stressed

2012, el año de MEDLINE. Un antes y un después para Archivos / No disponible

No disponible

Scientific publications and research groups on alcohol consumption and related problems worldwide: authorship analysis of papers indexed in PubMed and Scopus databases (2005 to 2009).

BACKGROUND: The research of alcohol consumption-related problems is a multidisciplinary field. The aim of this study is to analyze the worldwide scientific production in the area of alcohol-drinking and alcohol-related problems from 2005 to 2009. METHODS: A MEDLINE and Scopus search on alcohol (alcohol-drinking and alcohol-related problems) published from 2005 to 2009 was carried out. Using bibliometric indicators, the distribution of the publications was determined within the journals that publish said articles, specialty of the journal (broad subject terms), article type, language of the publication, and country where the journal is published. Also, authorship characteristics were assessed (collaboration index and number of authors who have published more than 9 documents). The existing research groups were also determined. RESULTS: About 24,100 documents on alcohol, published in 3,862 journals, and authored by 69,640 authors were retrieved from MEDLINE and Scopus between the years 2005 and 2009. The collaboration index of the articles was 4.83 ± 3.7. The number of consolidated research groups in the field was identified as 383, with 1,933 authors. Documents on alcohol were published mainly in journals covering the field of "Substance-Related Disorders," 23.18%, followed by "Medicine," 8.7%, "Psychiatry," 6.17%, and "Gastroenterology," 5.25%. CONCLUSIONS: Research on alcohol is a consolidated field, with an average of 4,820 documents published each year between 2005 and 2009 in MEDLINE and Scopus. Alcohol-related publications have a marked multidisciplinary nature. Collaboration was common among alcohol researchers. There is an underrepresentation of alcohol-related publications in languages other than English and from developing countries, in MEDLINE and Scopus databases.

Medical literature search dot com.

The Internet provides a quick access to a plethora of the medical literature, in the form of journals, databases, dictionaries, textbooks, indexes, and e-journals, thereby allowing access to more varied, individualized, and systematic educational opportunities. Web search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web, which may be in the form of web pages, images, information, and other types of files. Search engines for internet-based search of medical literature include Google, Google scholar, Yahoo search engine, etc., and databases include MEDLINE, PubMed, MEDLARS, etc. Commercial web resources (Medscape, MedConnect, MedicineNet) add to the list of resource databases providing some of their content for open access. Several web-libraries (Medical matrix, Emory libraries) have been developed as meta-sites, providing useful links to health resources globally. Availability of specific dermatology-related websites (DermIs, DermNet, and Genamics Jornalseek) is useful addition to the ever growing list of web-based resources. A researcher must keep in mind the strengths and limitations of a particular search engine/database while searching for a particular type of data. Knowledge about types of literature and levels of detail available, user interface, ease of access, reputable content, and period of time covered allow their optimal use and maximal utility in the field of medicine.

Trends in dermatology publications over the past 15 years.

BACKGROUND: There is a continually increasing amount of medical literature, which makes the challenge of keeping up to date in the field of dermatology increasingly difficult. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the total number and the number in various categories of publications in pediatric and adult dermatology have increased over time in a linear fashion. METHODS: We evaluated all MEDLINE articles from 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2007. We limited the search to 'skin' AND 'diseases' OR 'dermatology' for adults and children. We used regression analysis to determine the effect of the year of publication on the number of publications of each type. RESULTS: MEDLINE reported 17, 925 publications in adult dermatology and 9011 publications in pediatric dermatology during the evaluation period. There was a significant linear increase in the number of publications over the study period in both categories. There was a steady and similar increase over time in both pediatric and adult dermatology in total publications, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, case reports, and letters to the editor, while there were too few meta-analyses, editorials, and clinical guidelines to make meaningful analyses of trends. CONCLUSIONS: The fields of pediatric and adult dermatology have had a significant yearly increase in studies providing a high level of scientific evidence with a much slower rise in the number of articles providing a lower level of evidence.

Revista de Calidad Asistencial en MEDLINE / No disponible

No disponible

MEDLINE sólo es el primer paso / No disponible

No disponible

An update on Uniform Resource Locator (URL) decay in MEDLINE abstracts and measures for its mitigation.

BACKGROUND: For years, Uniform Resource Locator (URL) decay or "link rot" has been a growing concern in the field of biomedical sciences. This paper addresses this issue by examining the status of the URLs published in MEDLINE abstracts, establishing current availability and estimating URL decay in these records from 1994 to 2006. We also reviewed the information provided by the URL to determine if the context that the author cited in writing the paper is the same information presently available in the URL. Lastly, with all the documented recommended methods to preserve URL links, we determined which among them have gained acceptance among authors and publishers. METHODS: MEDLINE records from 1994 to 2006 from the National Library of Medicine in Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) format were processed yielding 10,208 URL addresses. These were accessed once daily at random times for 30 days. Titles and abstracts were also searched for the presence of archival tools such as WebCite, Persistent URL (PURL) and Digital Object Identifier (DOI). RESULTS: Results showed that the average URL length ranged from 13 to 425 characters with a mean length of 35 characters [Standard Deviation (SD) = 13.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) 13.25 to 13.77]. The most common top-level domains were ".org" and ".edu", each with 34%. About 81% of the URL pool was available 90% to 100% of the time, but only 78% of these contained the actual information mentioned in the MEDLINE record. "Dead" URLs constituted 16% of the total. Finally, a survey of archival tool usage showed that since its introduction in 1998, only 519 of all abstracts reviewed had incorporated DOI addresses in their MEDLINE abstracts. CONCLUSION: URL persistence parallels previous studies which showed approximately 81% general availability during the 1-month study period. As peer-reviewed literature remains to be the main source of information in biomedicine, we need to ensure the accuracy and preservation of these links.

URL decay in MEDLINE--a 4-year follow-up study.

MOTIVATION: Internet-based electronic resources, as given by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), are being increasingly used in scientific publications but are also becoming inaccessible in a time-dependant manner, a phenomenon documented across disciplines. Initial reports brought attention to the problem, spawning methods of effectively preserving URL content while some journals adopted policies regarding URL publication and begun storing supplementary information on journal websites. Thus, a reexamination of URL growth and decay in the literature is merited to see if the problem has grown or been mitigated by any of these changes. RESULTS: After the 2003 study, three follow-up studies were conducted in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Unfortunately, no significant change was found in the rate of URL decay among any of the studies. However, only 5% of URLs cited more than twice have decayed versus 20% of URLs cited once or twice. The most common types of lost content were computer programs (43%), followed by scholarly content (38%) and databases (19%). Compared to URLs still available, no lost content type was significantly over- or underrepresented. Searching for 30 of these websites using Google, 11 (37%) were found relocated to different URLs. CONCLUSIONS: URL decay continues unabated, but URLs published by organizations tend to be more stable. Repeated citation of URLs suggests calculation of an electronic impact factor (eIF) would be an objective, quantitative way to measure the impact of Internet-based resources on scientific research.

A bibliometric analysis of global clinical research by anesthesia departments.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the diversity in research conducted by anesthesia-based researchers. We examined global clinical research attributed to anesthesia departments using Medline and Ovid databases. We also investigated the impact of economic development on national academic productivity. METHODS: We conducted a Medline search for English-language publications from 2000 to 2005. The search included only clinical research in which institutional affiliation included words relating to anesthesia (e.g., anesthesiology, anesthesia, etc.). Population and gross national income data were obtained from publicly available databases. Impact factors for journals were obtained from Journal Citation Reports (Thomson Scientific). RESULTS: There were 6736 publications from 64 countries in 551 journals. About 85% of all publications were represented by 46 journals. Randomized controlled trials constituted 4685 (70%) of publications. Turkey had the highest percentage of randomized controlled trials (88%). The United States led the field in quantity (20% of total) and mean impact factor (3.0) of publications. Finland had the highest productivity when adjusted for population (36 publications per million population). Publications from the United States declined from 23% in 2000 to 17% in 2005. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical research attributable to investigators in our specialty is diverse, and extends beyond the traditional field of anesthesia and intensive care. The United States produces the most clinical research, but per capita output is higher in European nations.