JISCMail - EVIDENCE-BASED-HEALTH Archives

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Badgett [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 4:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: SUMSearch

Scott,

Please forward this on to evidence-based-healthcare.

Thank you very much for your comments about SUMSearch.

1. SUMSearch is independent and has no sponsors. The link to the Merck manual exists because currently I can find no better source of easy-to-read broad discussions of topics from multiple disciplines. Today I noticed that old issues of Clinical Evidence may be searchable. If so, I will consider searching CE first, then go to the Merck if no hits occur at CE. The section of SUMSearch that returns broad discussions is currently the weakest section, yet very important as prior research suggests many clinicians prefer to read traditional review articles and textbooks rather than systematic reviews and original studies. In the future I hope to help these clinicians by linking to high quality 'systematic textbooks' rather than traditional textbooks.

2. Why not search the Cochrane?

a. Most importantly, DARE abstracts all the meta-analyses produced by the Cochrane (I am not aware of exceptions). Thus the DARE includes the Cochrane and much more.I will improve the labeling on SUMSearch to reflect this as this question has come up before.

b. Cochrane systematic reviews are of course wonderful, but the abstractions of the Cochrane reviews done by the DARE may be a bit easier to digest during hurried patient care.

c. Lastly, SUMSearch cannot easily search the Cochrane because that database requires subscriptions.

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Dr. Scott Richardson <[log in to unmask]>
To: Badgett, Bob <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 3:00 PM
Subject: FW: SUMSearch

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Trisha Greenhalgh
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 12:24 PM
To: repyke
Cc: evidence-based-health
Subject: SUMSearch

Thanks Bob for this incredibly useful free search tool. Worth us all bookmarking it (http://SUMSearch.uthscsa.edu). Here follows an example of how I used it just now.

I wanted to see what had been published so far evaluating the new UK telephone advice line NHS Direct. I was too lazy to construct a systematic search and went for the fuzzy logic approach. I put in the text 'NHS Direct evaluation' and rejected SUMSearch's offer to focus it down or map to MESH headings. I was offered (in a logical order) a non-systematic editorial/overview (with a warning that it may be non-systematic in approach!), two 'possibly relevant' systematic reviews (one of which was useful, and with a link to 'why systematic reviews are helpful') and 15 original articles, about 5 of which were relevant. My own PubMed search had missed the first editorial because I had asked PubMed for 'evaulatION' and the article talked about 'evaluatING' the service. Obviously SUMSearch got round that. There was a prominent offer of material from the Merck Manual - perhaps reflecting the sponsor, but this was easy to ignore.

I remember a few years ago Dave Sackett saying we should all be working towards a single-entry search tool which then picks its way through all relevant sources and gives prominence to the quality systematic reviews. This one is clearly getting there, but one worry is that it does not appear to link to the Cochrane database. What do other users think?

Trisha Greenhalgh
Senior lecturer in primary care
Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences
Holborn Union Building
Whittington Campus
London N19 3UA
Tel 0171 288 3246
Fax 0171 281 8004

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Bob Pyke Jr
Sent: 02 May 2000 13:32
To: EBMNY
Cc: evidence-based-health
Subject: Fyi

Fyi.
Bob Pyke Jr.
SUMSearch (http://SUMSearch.uthscsa.edu) is new method of searching the Internet for evidence based medical information. Querying a number of key databases, such as MEDLINE, and the Database of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE ), SUMSearch aims to select the most appropriate source, format the
search query, modify this query if too few or too many hits are found, and return a single document to the clinician.
This article examines how these aims are realised, and considers therationale behind the development of this tool and how the service is Internet Explorer 5: top 10 tips
Christopher W. Oliver, FRCS (Tr & Orth) DM, Consultant Trauma and
Orthopaedic Surgeon, Edinburgh Orthopaedic Trauma Unit.