Acquiring the Evidence
ACQUIRE
the evidence |
3. Select the appropriate resource(s) and conduct a search |
In the previous section, we learned how to construct a well-built clinical question. Using that question, we will move on to the literature search.
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For our patient, the clinical question is:
In patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, is bariatric surgery more effective than standard medical therapy at increasing the probability of remission of diabetes? It is a therapy question and the best evidence would be a randomized controlled trial (RCT). If we found numerous RCTs, then we might want to look for a systematic review.
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Constructing a well-built clinical question can lead directly to a well-built search strategy. Note that you may not use all the information in PICO or well-built clinical question in your MEDLINE strategy. In the following example we did not use the term “male.” You don't need to search all elements.
PICO
|
Clinical Question
|
MeSH term
|
| Patient / Problem |
obese, diabetes type 2, male |
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Obesity
|
| Intervention |
stomach stapling (gastric bypass surgery; bariatric surgery) |
bariatric surgery |
| Comparison (if any) |
standard medical care |
|
| Outcome |
remission of diabetes; weight loss; mortality |
|
| Type of Question |
therapy |
(see below) |
| Type of Study |
RCT |
Clinical Queries – Therapy/narrow
or
Limit to randomized controlled trial |
Possible strategy:
(("Bariatric Surgery"[Major]) AND "Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2"[Major]) AND "Obesity"[Major] Filter to Randomized Control Trials
