PubMed had a higher sensitivity than Ovid-MEDLINE in the search for systematic reviews. 2011

Wanruchada Katchamart, and Amy Faulkner, and Brian Feldman, and George Tomlinson, and Claire Bombardier
Rheumatology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5G 2E9 Ontario, Canada. wanda.katchamart@utoronto.ca

OBJECTIVE To compare the performance of Ovid-MEDLINE vs. PubMed for identifying randomized controlled trials of methotrexate (MTX) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS We created search strategies for Ovid-MEDLINE and PubMed for a systematic review of MTX in RA. Their performance was evaluated using sensitivity, precision, and number needed to read (NNR). RESULTS Comparing searches in Ovid-MEDLINE vs. PubMed, PubMed retrieved more citations overall than Ovid-MEDLINE; however, of the 20 citations that met eligibility criteria for the review, Ovid-MEDLINE retrieved 17 and PubMed 18. The sensitivity was 85% for Ovid-MEDLINE vs. 90% for PubMed, whereas the precision and NNR were comparable (precision: 0.881% for Ovid-MEDLINE vs. 0.884% for PubMed and NNR: 114 for Ovid-MEDLINE vs. 113 for PubMed). CONCLUSIONS In systematic reviews of RA, PubMed has higher sensitivity than Ovid-MEDLINE with comparable precision and NNR. This study highlights the importance of well-designed database-specific search strategies.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008727 Methotrexate An antineoplastic antimetabolite with immunosuppressant properties. It is an inhibitor of TETRAHYDROFOLATE DEHYDROGENASE and prevents the formation of tetrahydrofolate, necessary for synthesis of thymidylate, an essential component of DNA. Amethopterin,Methotrexate Hydrate,Methotrexate Sodium,Methotrexate, (D)-Isomer,Methotrexate, (DL)-Isomer,Methotrexate, Dicesium Salt,Methotrexate, Disodium Salt,Methotrexate, Sodium Salt,Mexate,Dicesium Salt Methotrexate,Hydrate, Methotrexate,Sodium, Methotrexate
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001172 Arthritis, Rheumatoid A chronic systemic disease, primarily of the joints, marked by inflammatory changes in the synovial membranes and articular structures, widespread fibrinoid degeneration of the collagen fibers in mesenchymal tissues, and by atrophy and rarefaction of bony structures. Etiology is unknown, but autoimmune mechanisms have been implicated. Rheumatoid Arthritis
D012680 Sensitivity and Specificity Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed) Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D016032 Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table. Clinical Trials, Randomized,Controlled Clinical Trials, Randomized,Trials, Randomized Clinical
D016239 MEDLINE The premier bibliographic database of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. MEDLINE® (MEDLARS Online) is the primary subset of PUBMED and can be searched on NLM's Web site in PubMed or the NLM Gateway. MEDLINE references are indexed with MEDICAL SUBJECT HEADINGS (MeSH). Index Medicus
D016896 Treatment Outcome Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series. Rehabilitation Outcome,Treatment Effectiveness,Clinical Effectiveness,Clinical Efficacy,Patient-Relevant Outcome,Treatment Efficacy,Effectiveness, Clinical,Effectiveness, Treatment,Efficacy, Clinical,Efficacy, Treatment,Outcome, Patient-Relevant,Outcome, Rehabilitation,Outcome, Treatment,Outcomes, Patient-Relevant,Patient Relevant Outcome,Patient-Relevant Outcomes
D018501 Antirheumatic Agents Drugs that are used to treat RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. Anti-Rheumatic Agent,Anti-Rheumatic Drug,Antirheumatic Agent,Antirheumatic Disease-Modifying Second-Line Drug,Antirheumatic Drug,DMARD,Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug,Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs,Anti-Rheumatic Agents,Anti-Rheumatic Agents, Non-Steroidal,Anti-Rheumatic Drugs,Antirheumatic Disease-Modifying Second-Line Drugs,Antirheumatic Drugs,Antirheumatic Drugs, Disease-Modifying,Disease-Modifying, Antirheumatic Second-Line Drugs,Agent, Anti-Rheumatic,Agent, Antirheumatic,Anti Rheumatic Agent,Anti Rheumatic Agents,Anti Rheumatic Agents, Non Steroidal,Anti Rheumatic Drug,Anti Rheumatic Drugs,Antirheumatic Disease Modifying Second Line Drug,Antirheumatic Disease Modifying Second Line Drugs,Antirheumatic Drug, Disease-Modifying,Antirheumatic Drugs, Disease Modifying,Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drug,Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs,Disease Modifying, Antirheumatic Second Line Drugs,Drug, Anti-Rheumatic,Drug, Antirheumatic,Drug, Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic,Non-Steroidal Anti-Rheumatic Agents
D039781 PubMed A bibliographic database that includes MEDLINE as its primary subset. It is produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. PubMed, which is searchable through NLM's Web site, also includes access to additional citations to selected life sciences journals not in MEDLINE, and links to other resources such as the full-text of articles at participating publishers' Web sites, NCBI's molecular biology databases, and PubMed Central.

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