Introduction to Drug Literature & Utilizing Secondary Literature

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 1

secure demographics

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 2

obtain background information

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 3

determine and categorize the ultimate question

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 4

develop a search strategy and conduct a search for information

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 5

evaluate, analyze, and synthesize the information

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 6

formulate and provide a response

the seven-step system for answering drug info questions step 7

conduct follow-up and documentation

original research: clinical studies, cost analyses, epidemiological studies

primary literature

indexing/abstracting services: MEDLINE, Scopus, IPA, IDIS, Embase, CINAHL, Google Scholar

secondary literature

summary of existing medical literature: clinical practice guidelines, reviews, compendia, textbooks

tertiary literature

clinical practice guidelines

tertiary literature

review articles

tertiary literature

Compendia

tertiary literature

textbooks

tertiary literature

prescribing information: package inserts

tertiary literature

ease of use, convenience, and often authored by experts

strengths of tertiary literature

may be incomplete, becomes outdated quickly, bias and/or misinterpretation possible

weaknesses of tertiary literature

MEDLINE

secondary literature

SCOPUS

secondary literature

Embase

secondary literature

International Pharmaceutical Abstracts

secondary literature

Google Scholar

secondary literature

many sources available, most available via the internet, easy to use, continually updated

strengths of secondary literature

unique search process for different databases, costly (except for PubMed)

weaknesses of secondary literature

raw research (clinical trials, cohort studies, cost analysis).

primary literature

easy to use, convenient, usually written by experts. good for a quick overview.

strengths of tertiary literature

can be incomplete, outdated, or biased. since it's a summary, there's always a risk of misinterpretation.

weaknesses of tertiary literature

covers biomedical/life science journals from 1946 → present.

MEDLINE/PubMed

good for European/non-English studies.

Embase

Pharmacotherapy, JAMA, BMJ, AJHP, Chest, etc. these are where you'll find original research like clinical trials, observational studies, and meta-analyses.

primary literature journals

a research article in Pharmacotherapy.

title: "Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation of sulbactam-durlobactam..."

this is ___________________________ because it's original data from researchers studying a drug in critically ill patients.

primary

randomized controlled trial

primary

PubMed database

secondary

guidelines

tertiary

textbook (AccessPharmacy)

tertiary

systematic review (depending on design)

primary

systematic review when published as a summary in Cochrane

tertiary

to judge if a source is trustworthy, look at: peer review, author credentials, timeliness, and ______________

references

anyone can edit, no peer review → not reliable for medical decision-making.

Wikipedia

secondary sources that link to peer-reviewed studies → more reliable.

Google Scholar

NLM database of biomedical/life science journals.

Medline