Search

Introduction: Poor indexing and inconsistent use of terms and keywords may prevent efficient retrieval of studies on the patient-based benefit-risk assessment (BRA) of medicines. We aimed to develop and validate an objectively derived content search strategy containing generic search terms that can be adapted for any search for evidence on patient-based BRA of medicines for any therapeutic area. Methods: We used a robust multistep process to develop and validate the content search strategy: (1) we developed a bank of search terms derived from screening studies on patient-based BRA of medicines in various therapeutic areas, (2) we refined the proposed content search strategy through an iterative process of testing sensitivity and precision of search terms, and (3) we validated the final search strategy in PubMed by firstly using multiple sclerosis as a case condition and secondly computing its relative performance versus a published systematic review on patient-based BRA of medicines in rheumatoid arthritis. Results: We conceptualized a final search strategy to retrieve studies on patient-based BRA containing generic search terms grouped into two domains, namely the patient and the BRA of medicines (sensitivity 84%, specificity 99.4%, precision 20.7%). The relative performance of the content search strategy was 85.7% compared with a search from a published systematic review of patient preferences in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We also developed a more extended filter, with a relative performance of 93.3% when compared with a search from a published systematic review of patient preferences in lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The research sought to establish validated search filters for retrieval of studies on patients’ knowledge and values. Setting: Two nonprofit organizations in the Netherlands were studied for guideline development. Methods: An existing filter was adapted to three bibliographic interfaces. After defining the scope, a reference database was built for the development of the new filters. The performance of the new filters was validated in different disease categories. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, precision, negative predictive value, and accuracy were (%): 90.5/98/77/99.2/97 (MEDLINE-Ovid), 90.1/98.8/79.3/99.5/98.3 (PubMed), and 93.1/98.4/81.8/99.6/98.7 (Embase). Conclusions: The filters provide pragmatic tools for searching for patients’ issues. Further optimization and validation is recommended.

Working with citation data from literature searches for systematic reviews can be problematic. The quantity of citations can be quite large. Export functions to the various citation managers (e.g., RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) are not always sufficient to the task.

Objective: The research sought to establish validated search filters for retrieval of studies on patients' knowledge and values. Setting: Two nonprofit organizations in the Netherlands were studied for guideline development. Methods: An existing filter was adapted to three bibliographic interfaces. After defining the scope, a reference database was built for the development of the new filters. The performance of the new filters was validated in different disease categories. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, precision, negative predictive value, and accuracy were (%): 90.5/98/ 77/99.2/97 (MEDLINE-Ovid), 90.1/98.8/79.3/99.5/98.3 (PubMed), and 93.1/98.4/81.8/99.6/98.7 (Embase). Conclusions: The filters provide pragmatic tools for searching for patients' issues. Further optimization and validation is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a method for exporting journal citation data to Excel spreadsheet using a reference manager. It mentions the importance of transferring the citation data as a defined citation format instead of a defined file format, the need for delimiters in separating the textual elements, and instructions for importing a dataset into a spreadsheet which begins with its exportation from the citation manager to a bibliography file in Modern Language Association (MLA) style.