Intro to Pharmacy Quiz 7

primary resources

original research studies & reports

-use to example study methods and results

-ex. clinical trials, cohort studies

strengths of primary sources

detailed data from the original study

limitations of primary sources

requires literature evaluation skills

secondary resources

searchable index of published literature

-use to find articles on a topic

-ex. PubMed

strengths of secondary sources

search across many publications

limitations of secondary sources

search & access can be challenging

tertiary resources

summaries of multiple sources

-use to answer routine drug questions

-ex. UpToDate, Micromedex

strengths of tertiary sources

quick reference summaries

limitations of tertiary sources

may be incomplete or reflect author bias

Pediatric & Neonatal Handbook

gold standard for pediatric dosing

-in UpToDate

Drugs in Pregnancy & Lactation (“Briggs”)

gold standard for evaluating risk potential to fetuses & infants during pregnancy & lactation

-original studies cited within monograph

-in UpToDate

Micromedex

has IV compatability

Handbook of Injectable Drugs (“Trissel’s”)

gold standard for IV stability & compatibility

-in Micromedex

red book

pricing information

orange book (FDA)

list of approved generic therapeutic equivalent drugs

yellow book (CDC)

all required vaccines needed for travel

-includes prophylactic meds

green book (FDA)

info on FDA approved animal drugs on safety and effectiveness

purple book (FDA)

info on biological drug products & interchangeable products

pink book (CDC)

info on vaccine-preventable diseases and disease epidemiology

UpToDate

-tertiary

-best for clinical questions, dosing, interactions

Natural Medicines

-tertiary

-best for supplements and herbal interactions

Rainbow Books/FDA Shortages

-tertiary

-best for specialized topics (pricing, equivalence, travel, shortages)

PubMed

-secondary

-best for finding published studies on a topic

journal articles, clinical trials

-primary

-best for evaluating the evidence directly, citing the original source