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Searching the Medical Literature for the Best Evidence
Using Key Resources

UpToDate

Searching tips:

Enter general search terms – the name of a disease, a symptom or a drug name. You can also enter common abbreviations, such as dvt or word roots, such as nephro

Select a keyword from the list. If your results are too general, you can always narrow your search later on.

Search Scenario:

1) Enter the term neuralgia in the search term box and click on Go

2) From the list of matching search terms, click on the link to Neuralgia, Postherpetic

The next screen allows you to refine your search by clicking on “Narrow Search Results.” You can then enter another search term or select sub-topics from the list of modifiers (such as diagnosis, physical examination or treatment). In our example, though, we found precisely what we need. Click on the first link to see the topical summary on “Pain associated with herpes zoster infection.”

Use the outline on the sidebar to quickly find the information you need. You will see some variations on what sub-areas are discussed in each UpToDate topical summary. However, you will usually find a section on treatment options and recommendations.

For our example, we clicked on capsaicin to help understand its role in treatment of post-herpetic pain.


Within the topical reviews, you can access MEDLINE abstracts, graphics and a drug information database, as well as other related topic reviews. For example, in this section of our review, we can link to more details on capsaicin within the accompanying drug database (Lexi-Comp).

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Searching the Medical Literature for the Best Evidence

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