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Vancouver International Summer Program in Medicine Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences

Dr. Ran Goldman – Course Director The University of British Columbia

Department of Pediatrics

Searching Literature Workshop – Worksheet

ANSWER KEY

Question 1 Clinical scenario: Byron is a healthy 60 year-old male with osteoarthritis in his knees, hips and feet. He takes ibuprofen with some relief but does not want to be on too many medications. He asks about acupuncture and what your opinion is about using acupuncture. You decide to look at the evidence on the use of acupuncture in treating osteoarthritis. Clinical question: In patients <60 with osteoarthritis, is acupuncture effective in reducing pain? Answers:

Try the NCCAM website http://nccam.nih.gov/health/arthritis/osteoarthritis

Do a Medline search using MeSH terms because the topic will be in the medical literature o To browse PubMed, try: osteoarthritis AND acupuncture AND reviews o In OvidSP, try the following structured search:

exp *osteoarthritis exp *acupuncture limit to reviews

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 2 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

Question 2 Clinical scenario: Catherine, a sexually-active teenager, comes to your office. She has contracted two sexually-transmitted infections recently, and you discuss her risks of being exposed to human papilloma virus (HPV) and the benefits of getting vaccinated. Her mother has accompanied her to the appointment, and would like more information about the side effects of the vaccine. Clinical question: What are some of the side-effects associated with the HPV vaccine for teenage women? Answers:

CDC Factsheet on Gardasil (HPV vaccine) http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv-vaccine-young-women.htm

Wikipedia entry on HPV Vaccine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV_vaccines

Do a Medline search using MeSH terms because the topic will be in the medical literature

See PubMed search below

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 3 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 4 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

Question 3 Clinical scenario: Winnie is a 35 year-old lawyer who is overweight, with a history of diabetes mellitus type 2. She has been reading about the likelihood of having a baby with a birth defect given her condition, and wants to know more. Can you advise her? You decide to look at the state of the evidence. Clinical question: In women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus type 2 before pregnancy, are their babies more likely to be born with birth defects? Answer:

WebMD http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20080730/study-diabetes-birth-defects-linked

Do a Medline search using MeSH because topic will be in the medical literature

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 5 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

Question 4 Clinical scenario: George, a 63 year-old gentleman, is on day 2 of his recovery from heart surgery. He is resting quietly in his hospital room when a resident notices a drop in platelets. The patient’s history is significant for heart attack, blood clots and hypertension. The resident notices heparin on the chart, and worries the patient has heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Clinical question: Does George have heparin-induced thrombocytopenia? If so, can you locate some state of the art systematic reviews or randomized trials in the literature? Answer:

Do a Medline search using MeSH terms because the topic will be in the medical literature

Try Google Scholar using the terms heparin AND thrombocytopenia AND treatments

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 6 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 7 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

Question 5 Clinical scenario:

A seven year-old elementary school student named Michael is an energetic boy with a big smile. His mother worries about all the candy Michael eats. As she sits on the school’s parent-teacher committee, Michael’s mum has read about fluoride mouth rinse programs to help reduce cavities. She asks you, as the family physician, for your opinion on these programs, and whether there’s evidence they work.

Clinical question:

Are fluoride mouth rinses programs effective in preventing cavities in children? Answer:

You decide to do a Medline search using MeSH terms because this is likely to be in the medical literature

o Child, Preschool AND Flurorides AND School Dentistry

Do a Google search for Canada AND “school-based fluoride mouth rinse programs”

Effectiveness of a School-based Fluoride Mouth Rinse Program http://jdr.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/12/21/0022034511433505

Search the Canadian Dental Association & American Dental Association websites

Searching Literature Workshop – Answer Key

Introduction to Clinical Research in the Medical Sciences 8 University of British Columbia – Department of Pediatrics

For searching literature assistance, contact: Dean Giustini, UBC Biomedical Branch Librarian – dean.giustini@ubc.ca