Cochrane Library Update

The Cochrane Database of Methodology Reviews (Methods Reviews) has merged into the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Cochrane Reviews) with the publication of Issue 2, 2007, of The Cochrane Library on 18th April.

Why is this being done? All Cochrane reviews will now be in a single database, paving the way for further types of reviews (diagnostic test accuracy reviews and overviews of reviews, previously known as umbrella reviews) to be introduced in the future. Other benefits of the merge are the inclusion of methodology reviews in MEDLINE (both PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE) and having them indexed by ISI/Thomson Scientific for the Science Citation Index.

PubMed: 17 Million and Growing

On April 20, 2007, the number of citations in PubMed surpassed 17 million.

LactMed Expanded

The Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) has added fifty-one substances, including fourteen topical antibacterial and antifungal agents, thirteen X-ray and eight MRI contrast agents, eight acne/skin care agents, and eight other drugs. Thirty-six records have been updated.

LactMed is part of the NLM Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET®). It is a peer-reviewed and fully referenced database of drugs to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. LactMed includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. It provides statements of the American Academy of Pediatrics concerning a drug’s compatibility with breastfeeding and suggested therapeutic alternatives to those drugs where appropriate.

For more information:
LactMed 3/2007

MeSH: the Web Site

You're searching MEDLINE (whatever flavor!) and you're finding little or nothing on your topic - or you're finding ten thousand...

And none of your finely honed searching shortcuts is working for you..

What are you going to do?
Go back to MEDLINE searching fundamentals. I'm talking about the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), which are one of the building blocks for a good search. A good understanding of how they are organized, how they work, how they are applied to the medical literature not only forms the basis of those 'searching shortcuts' but it is where you should turn when your 'shortcuts' fail...back to the fundamentals.

MeSH: the Web Site is jam-packed full of information, including video tutorials. It covers the tree structures, the principles of indexing, searching tips for PubMed, the MeSH database, tips for chemical searches, and MORE!

Take a look!


For more information:
The Basics of Medical Subject Headings

New Look for TOXNET search results page

The "Search All (TOXNET) Databases" results page has a new look. References from the National Library of Medicine's TOXLINE® (Toxicology Literature Online) and DART® (Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology) are displayed first, followed by records from the other TOXNET resources (Chemical, Toxicological, and Environmental Health data).

For each resource, the database abbreviation, full name, and number of records found are displayed; click on any one to go to its results page.

For more information:
TOXNET
NLM Technical Bulletin

Ovid MEDLINE Tutorial

Find it! An Ovid MEDLINE Tutorial

This tutorial is a step-by-step guide for using Ovid MEDLINE. You will learn how to correctly formulate your clinical question, perform searches in Ovid MEDLINE using MeSH terms, save your searches, export your search results to EndNote and RefWorks, and a lot more! This tutorial also includes video demos.

This excellent tutorial was created by my colleague Lei Wang, a very talented Instructional Design Librarian at the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale School of Medicine.

Give it a try!

PubMed® Subject Subset Strategies Updated for 2007

NLM announced that the following subject subset strategies have been recently revised: AIDS, Bioethics, Cancer, Complementary Medicine, Systematic Reviews, and Toxicology.

All PubMed subject subset strategies are reviewed at least once a year to see if modifications are necessary. Modifications may include revisions due to changes in MeSH vocabulary, adding or deleting terms, and changing parts of a strategy to try to optimize retrieval. The History of Medicine subset was revised in October 2006.

RxNorm and RxNav...from NLM

Try out the updated Web-based browser RxNav which allows you to search RxNorm, the NLM database of standard names for clinical drugs that references the names of approximately 17,000 clinical drugs from several sources. RxNav displays graphically links from clinical drugs, both branded and generic, to their active ingredients (e.g., Ibuprofen), drug components (e.g., Ibuprofen 200 MG) and drug forms (e.g., Ibuprofen Oral Tablet). It also associates generic with brand names (e.g., Ibuprofen / Advil).

Every aspect of the RxNorm database can be queried through RxNav, including the names and codes of drugs and components in the drug resources referenced by RxNorm. Spelling suggestions are offered when no exact match is found in RxNorm for a given input term. RxNav accesses the RxNorm server at NLM, which is updated monthly.

For more information:
about RxNorm
about RxNav