What's in the web for family physicians - evidence based medicine

Alfred KY Tang 鄧權恩

The Cochrane Library
http://www.cochrane.org/index0.htm

Updated quarterly, the Cochrane Collaboration is a database of systematic reviews on various clinical topics. Founded in 1993, it has become one of the leading resources for evidence based medicine literature. Search databases include The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (complete reviews as well as protocols of reviews in progress), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (citations to other systematic reviews produced outside of the Cochrane Collaboration), The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and The Cochrane Review Methodology Database (a bibliography of articles on the science of research synthesis). Third party information on the Cochrane Collaboration are also useful, including Hong Kong branch of the Chinese Cochrane Centre (http://www.hkcochrane.cuhk.edu.hk/) and Australian NICS online users guide (http://www.nicsl.com.au/cochrane/) by the Australasian Cochrane Centre.

Turning Research Into Practice (Trip) Database
http://www.tripdatabase.com

This database, hosted by the Centre for Research Support in Wales, is a search engine with a focus on evidence based medical articles. It aims to support primary care physicians for their need in literature search. The database allows both boolean searching (AND, OR, NOT) and truncation, and the interface is very user-friendly. Outcome of searches were categorized into guidelines, e-texts, medical images, patient information leaflets and Medline articles, all presented in clickable hyper-links.

PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

Developed by the National Library of Medicine, PubMed provides free Internet access to Medline, the well-known and premier database with more than 11 million references in life science. The Clinical Quiz section adopts Research Methodology Filters applied to search strategies which allow focusing on diagnosis, aetiology, therapy or prognosis. It also allows users to choose between high sensitivity or specificity searches. To ensure efficient and fruitful PubMed searches, users are recommended to take a tutorial which is available online (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html).

SUMSearch
http://sumsearch.uthscsa.edu/

As an attempt to automate evidence based literature search, SUMSearch automatically searches multiple internet databases and is programmed to select the best internet sites for literature search. It attempts to provide references to answer clinical questions around diagnosis, aetiology, prognosis and therapy (plus physical findings, adverse treatment effects and screening/prevention) by searching only high-quality sources. SUMSearch searches: (1) Merck Manual. (2) MEDLINE for review articles and editorials that have full texts available. (3) National Guideline Clearinghouse from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR). (4). Database of Abstract of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE). (5) MEDLINE for original research. Depending on the focus specified, SUMSearch will search PubMed with the high sensitivity filters.

Netting the Evidence: A ScHARR Introduction to Evidence Based Practice on the Internet
http://nettingtheevidence.org.uk

An annotated alphabetical list of Internet resources on evidence based practice. It provides information on searching, appraising, and implementing; links to evidence-based journals and databases; and links to related organizations. This comprehensive and international list is compiled by the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield. It also links to "Becoming ADEPT: Applying Diagnosis Etiology Prognosis and Therapy methodological filters for retrieving the evidence" (http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/ir/adept/) which is a workshop and distance learning based programme created for evidenced based medicine.

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford University)
http://www.cebm.net/index.asp

The Centre has been established in Oxford as one of the first centres promoting evidence-based health care. The website outlines the specific goals of the Centre and how Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) can be implemented. Teaching materials on EBM are included on the website. The website also provides links to other groups involved in promoting EBHC around the world, as well as a selection of content sites which contain evidence-based summaries of clinical research. The section on EBM Toolbox has an assortment of materials which are very useful for practitioners of EBM.

Evidence-Based Medicine: A Framework for Clinical Practice
http://webcast.on24.com/clients/mdnet/lobby.html?eventid=2756

A well recorded lecture on Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) is available online. The lecture outlines the definition and evolution of EBM, and advice on the implementation of its four components, including how to: frame the clinical question, find the best available evidence on the Internet, evaluate the evidence, and apply the evidence to patient care. The author had also written a book with the same name as the website. (http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/medical/lange/ebmbook/). Chapter six of the book dedicated to search strategies and specific search sites has good coverage on know-how of Medline Search and Cochrane search.