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American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, Vol. 24, No. 3, 181-184 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1049909106298394

The Pitfalls of a Systematic MEDLINE Review in Palliative Medicine: Symptom Assessment Instruments

Norma O'Leary, MRCPI

Department of Palliative Medicine, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Eoin Tiernan, MD, FRCGP

Department of Palliative Medicine, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, e.tiernan{at}st-vincents.ie.

Declan Walsh, MSc, FACP

Harry R Horvitz Center for Palliative Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Niamh Lucey

Medical Library, Education and Research Centre, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Jordanka Kirkova, MD

Harry R Horvitz Center for Palliative Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Mellar P. Davis, MD, FCCP

Harry R Horvitz Center for Palliative Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio

The Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) database provides many references for reviews, but many relevant articles are missed, especially when the topic is complex. Reported here is the detailed methodology of a PubMed search of MEDLINE augmented by a related articles link search. Of 1181 citations identified, through a PubMed search, 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. Fifty-one were identified through the related articles link; of which 43 were not detected by standard searches using medical subject heading terms. More than 50% were identified using the related articles link. Only 14% of relevant articles were identified using the standard PubMed MEDLINE search. The related articles link is not included in methodologic recommendations for systematic literature reviews but this experience suggests that it is a useful tool in PubMed for reviewing complex evidence. Related links searches are proposed in any systematic PubMed MEDLINE literature review in palliative medicine.

Key Words: MEDLINE • palliative medicine • symptom assessment • symptom assessment instruments • systematic review.


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