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Literature Search Worksheet - Neonatology

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Instructions

If you cannot complete this worksheet in one sitting, click on the Save button at the bottom of the page to save and resume your work at a later time. To submit your completed worksheet, click on the Submit button at the bottom of the page. If you have any questions, please contact one of the Health Sciences Librarians.

Don't forget to Log Out when you're finished, especially if you are on a public computer!

Section 1 (20 Points)

PICO (Patient or Population/Problem | Intervention/Exposure | Comparison | Outcome)
Please enter your Clinical Question (in sentence format) and its P-I-C-O elements below.

NOTE:

  • For the purpose of this assignment, please ask a clinical question concerning treatment or preventive therapy. The critical analysis in section four is only relevant for this type of question.
  • Questions relating to disease screening or the comparison of diagnostic tests are not acceptable.

Section 2 (30 Ppints)

This section will be graded partially on how well your search strategies match the concepts in your Clinical Question (PICO). For each database below:

  • Copy and paste one or two of the most relevant results. If no relevant results are obtained from a particular database, state this clearly and describe the search strategy that you used.
  • For PubMed searches, copy and paste your search strategy from the "History" section below the Advanced Search Builder on the "Advanced" PubMed web page (see example). Review the PubMed Tutorials .
  • Briefly discuss your search strategy and the number of results retrieved.

 

PubMed (Clinical Queries - under PubMed Tools - Find at least one randomized controlled trial)
Cochrane Library (Systematic reviews)

Section 3 (10 Points)

For your critical appraisal, locate a randomized controlled trial (RCT) from your PubMed search results that provides evidence regarding the efficacy of interventions that apply to the patient/population and clinical problem from your original clinical question. Please enter the complete citation including PMID AND the abstract for the reference you select (see example).

Section 4 (40 Points)

Critical Appraisal of a Therapy or Prevention Article: for the article you have selected, answer questions 1-11 below.
Be sure to send a copy of your selected article to Drs.Bany-Mohammed and Aslam.

Tools You Can Use Online

2a. Were all the patients who entered the trial properly accounted for and attributed at its conclusion?
2b. Was patient follow-up complete?
2c. Were patients analyzed in the groups to which they were randomized (intention to treat analysis)?
1. Was the assignment of patients to treatment randomized?
3. Were patients, their clinicians, and study personnel 'blind' to treatment?
4a. Were the groups similar at the start of the trial?
4b. Were baseline prognostic factors (demographics, co-morbidity, disease severity, other known cofounders) balanced?
4c. If the baseline prognostic factors were different, were they adjusted for?
5a. Aside from the experimental intervention, were the groups treated equally?
5b. Was there co-intervention in the intervention?
5c. Was there contamination of the groups?
5d. Was there compliance?
6. Overall, are the results of the study valid?
7b. How large was the treatment effect? Describe the RELATIVE risk reduction.
9b. Are the patients similar for demographics, severity, co-morbidity, and other prognostic factors as my patient?
9c. Is there a compelling reason why the results should not be applied? Describe:
10a. Were all the clinically important outcomes considered?
10b. What were the clinically important outcomes? Describe:
10c. Are the substitute endpoints (also known as surrogates) valid?
11a. Are the likely treatment benefits worth the potential harms and costs?
11b. Describe why the likely treatment benefits are worth the potential harm and costs:

Notes: This worksheet is submitted to the UCI Libraries' Health Sciences Education Team upon clicking on the Submit button below. Worksheet adapted from the Evidence-Based Medicine Toolkit, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada. 2006