This is the Power Point presentation on PubMed's Clinical Queries, which I developed in 2012.

1. Prepared by Cheryl L. Branche, 2012

2. Advantages
•
•
•
•
The research areas are limited to: clinical categories,
systematic reviews and medical genetics.
Algorithms are already prepared. You do not have to
reinvent the wheel.
Filters can be used to display articles on specific
topics and clinical categories.
This tool is useful in evidence-based medicine
queries.

3. Importance
 With evidence-based medicine, demands for information about
clinical scenarios must be at your fingertips.
 Specially developed algorithms or search strategies are built-in to the
module so searches can be conducted to be either broad (greater recall)
or narrow (greater precision).
 The Clinical Queries tool is essential for patient care in today’s
knowledge based medical arena.

4. Accessing the Clinical Queries Tool
 On the PubMed.gov page you can find Clinical Queries
under PubMed Tools.

5. PubMed Clinical Queries Page
The PubMed clinical queries page has three columns:
1. Clinical Study Categories;
2. Systematic Reviews; and
3. Medical Genetics.
The results of the search done on the clinical queries page are limited to
these three research areas.

6. PubMed Clinical Queries Page
The PubMed clinical queries page has three columns:
1. Clinical Study Categories;
2. Systematic Reviews; and
3. Medical Genetics.
The results of the search done on the clinical queries page are limited to
these three research areas.

7. How To Do A Search
 To do a search, type in the search term(s). Connect
terms with “AND,” a Boolean operator. Click “Search.”

8. Viewing Results
 A results page will appear. There are three columns:
Clinical Categories, Systematic Reviews and Medical
Genetics.

9. Selecting Clinical Studies Categories
 There are five clinical studies categories:

Etiology

Diagnosis

Therapy

Prognosis

Clinical Prediction Guides
Select a clinical studies category from the drop down
menu.

10. Selecting Scope
Select scope from the drop down menu.
 There are two categories of scope:

Broad – which makes sure you don’t miss any relevant articles – some of which
may not be exactly what you want – this is called RECALL.

Narrow – which returns fewer results, but all will closely match your search terms
– this is called PRECISION.

11. Selecting Topics from the Medical
Genetics Research Area
There are seven topics in the drop-down menu:
• Diagnosis
• Differential Diagnosis
• Clinical Description
• Management
• Genetic Counseling
• Molecular Genetics
• Genetic Testing
Select a topic (or All) from the drop down menu.

12. Getting Results
 For example, let us select “Diagnosis” for the clinical study
categories, “Narrow “ for scope and “Management” under
medical genetics. Each of the three columns displays the first five
citations. AND or OR may be used to narrow or broaden your
search.

13. What is a Systematic Review?
 A systematic review evaluates and
synthesizes the results of other studies to
summarize the best available research on a
specific question.
Source: http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/what_is_a_systematic_review/index.php

14. What is a Systematic Review? - 2
 If you search selecting this column, the results of your
search will display citations for:
 Systematic reviews,
 Meta-analyses,
 Reviews of clinical trials,
 Evidence-based medicine studies,
 Consensus development conferences, and
 Guidelines
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/clinical

15. Searching PubMed Using Clinical
Queries-Scenario
 A 53-year old female with diabetes and hypertension
wants to know how much of a role her mother’s
diabetes plays in her own diagnosis of diabetes and
how much of a role exercise plays in controlling her
blood sugars. As her physician, you want to learn
about the systematic reviews that have been
published.
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/clinical

16. Searching PubMed Using Clinical
Queries Scenario - 2
Type in “diabetes AND exercise, ” without the quotes and click on “Search.”

17. Searching PubMed Using Clinical
Queries-3
 You can see that the default category under Clinical Study
Categories is “Diagnosis”. The default scope is “Broad.”
The default topic under Medical Genetics is “All.”

18. Searching PubMed Using Clinical
Queries - 4
 Let us select “Therapy” from the “Category” drop down menu under
“Clinical Study Categories,” “Narrow” under “Scope” and
“Management” under “Medical Genetics.” You can see the first three
articles in each research area.

19. A Word About Systematic Reviews
 What is a systematic review?
 A systematic review evaluates and synthesizes the
results of other studies to summarize the best
available research on a specific question.
Source: http://www.campellcollaboration.org/what _is_a_systematic_review/idenx.php

20. Search Strategies
 The strategies used to select articles in the clinical
study categories were developed by Haynes RB et al.
and the Summary of Enhancements for Clinical
and Health Services Research Queries for
PubMed for Studies may be viewed at:
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/jf04/cq_info.html

21. How Clinical Query Searches Are
Processed
The search
strategies/filters
for the clinical
studies
categories
research area
topics are
extensive.
Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/N
BK3827/#pubmedhelp.Clinical_Querie
s_Filters

22. How Systematic Review Searches
are Processed
The strategy used to search for systematic reviews is extensive.
Source:http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_subsets/sysreviews_strategy.html

23. How Medical Genetics Searches
are Processed
The
algorithms
for the
medical
genetics
research area
topics are
extensive.
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3827/#pubmedhelp.Clinical_Queries_Filters

24. Resources

“Clinical Queries Filters. “ Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3827/#pubmedhelp.Clinical_Queries_Filters on July 5,
2012.

“Clinical Queries” PubMed Tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/020_570.html on June 28, 2012.

“Clinical Queries prognosis.” Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kX4sK9&feature=related on June 28, 2012.

New York Academy of Medicine. The Section on Evidence-Based Health care of the New York Academy of Medicine. “Using PubMed to
Search for Evidence: Clinical Queries.” Retrieved from http://www.nyam.org/fellows-members/ebhc/eb_pubmed.html on June 28, 2012.

“Four_of_fire_PubMed_clinical_querires.flv. “ Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ7MYOOJ0eU on July 19, 2012.

“Medical Genetics Search Filters. “ Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3827/#pubmedhelp.Medical_Genetics_Search_Filte on July 5, 2012.

“PubMed Clinical Queries.” Retrieved from http://www.nvbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/clinical on June 28, 2012.

“Subset strategies for systematic reviews. “ Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_subsets/sysreviews_strategy.html on July 5,
2012.

“Using Clinical Queries in PubMed.” Retrieved from http://youtube.com/watch?v=JEeUr2dRA%feature=related on June 28, 2012.

“What is as systematic Review? “ Retrieved from http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/what_is_a_systematic_review/index.php/php on
June 28, 2012.