MEDLINE: A Guide to Effective Searching.MEDLINE The online medical database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) whose parent is the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. MEDLINE contains millions of articles from thousands of medical journals and publications. The consumer section of the site (http://medlineplus. : A Guide to Effective Searching Katcher BS. San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , CA 94117-4014, The Ashbury Press, 1999, hardcover--library edition and paperback, 160 pp, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m : 0-9673445-9-X (hardcover) and 0-9673445-0-6 (paperback), $45 (hardcover) and $29 (paperback). The purpose of this book is to facilitate effective searching of health-related information by using MEDLINE. MEDLINE is the largest and most clearly organized database of its kind. It currently includes 4,200 journals, and adds 33,000 article citations a month. The book is not written with any particular audience in mind, but it is very accessible to all individuals who need health-related information and who want to improve their search skills. This guide serves this purpose very well. The author provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter. He carefully provides sufficient information to enable the reader to conduct efficient searches but does not overwhelm the reader with too much information. The quality of the book is very high. It is well written, well organized, and easy to read. It contains 5 chapters. Chapter 1 is an interesting historical account of the origins of MEDLINE and how it came to be. Chapter 2 provides an overview of how to search using MEDLINE. Chapter 3 discusses the use of Medical Subject Headings (MESH). Chapter 4 is possibly the most valuable chapter and discusses publication types and other limiting strategies for searching. It also provides a nice exposition on the benefits of reviews, editorials, and meta-analyses and describes how to search for them. It also provides a nice discussion of the differences among the various types of clinical trials, randomized controlled trials A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a scientific procedure most commonly used in testing medicines or medical procedures. RCTs are considered the most reliable form of scientific evidence because it eliminates all forms of spurious causality. , and multicenter studies. Chapter 5 provides some useful "hands-on" information concerning how questions can be framed best and other practical tips. It is a very valuable reference to use with different search engines. It is particularly useful for use with PUBMED, which is a fast, free Internet browser See Web browser. provided by the National Institutes of Health. The author makes it very clear that there is no perfect way to search in MEDLINE but that using this book will help the reader understand what is possible. The book provides several figures and appendixes that make the book easier to use as a reference. The author provides numerous illustrations of how a search can be conducted to carefully narrow and target the most salient references for any particular research question. This book is potentially useful to all physical therapists. For example, chapter 4 discusses different publishing types that can be used to facilitate a search. One particularly relevant publishing type is "practice guideline." I conducted a search using PUBMED and cross-referenced "physical therapy" and "practice guideline." This search located 48 articles that related to practice guidelines practice guidelines Medical practice A set of recommendations for Pt management that identifies a specific or range of range of management strategies. See Peer review organization, Practice standards. Cf 'Cookbook' medicine. for different therapies. As such, this book can aid the evidence-based practice of physical therapy. It provides valuable information that enables the reader to take full advantage of MEDLINE, which the author Katcher rightly calls a national treasure. Daniel M Corcos, PhD University of Illinois at Chicago This article is about the University of Illinois at Chicago. For other uses, see University of Illinois at Chicago (disambiguation). UIC participates in NCAA Division I Horizon League competition as the UIC Flames in several sports, most notably Basketball. Chicago, Ill Dr Corcos is Professor of Kinesiology kinesiology Study of the mechanics and anatomy of human movement and their roles in promoting health and reducing disease. Kinesiology has direct applications to fitness and health, including developing exercise programs for people with and without disabilities, preserving and Neurology neurology (n  rŏl`əjē, ny–), study of the morphology, physiology, and pathology of the human nervous system. in the School of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, and in the Department of Neurological neurological, neurologicpertaining to or emanating from the nervous system or from neurology. neurological assessment evaluation of the health status of a patient with a nervous system disorder or dysfunction. Sciences, Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center He is also Executive Editor of the Journal of Motor Behavior. |
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