Cheat Sheet for finding the literature
1 Using pubmed to find a review
- My preferred way is to find a high quality expert/narrative review. by filtering for reviews on the left side of PubMed.
2 Search through specific journals
- Search for specific journals using the advanced search feature of PubMed
3 Create search for journals
- For big topics like bipolar disorder/alcohol use disorder, you can look for reviews in NEJM, Lancet, JAMA.
- Combine the journals with an 'OR'
4 Skim review article to formulate PICO question
- Get information to formulate a clinical question
- Look for words that could be used in a PICO search
- Look at the bibliography titles for search terms as well
- P - population
- I - intervention
- C - comparator/control (optional)
- O - outcome (scales)
5 PICO Search basics
- So each of the categories for PICO can be combined with OR's
- For the P or population terms, you come up with multiple synonyms and combine them with an OR.
- So if you are search for the evidence for lithium in mania
6 ICO terms
- I or intervention is lithium
- C or comparator I usually leave blank. If there are many articles you can make the search more specific.
- O or outcome is Young Mania Rating Scale or YMRS. We can look at this table.
7 Outcome terms for disorders
| Construct | Scale |
| MDD | PHQ-9,MADRS,HAM-D, Beck Depression Inventory |
| Psychosis | PANSS, CGI-S (used for severity of illness) |
| Social Phobia | Liebowitz-SA-Scale, SPIN and MINI-SPIN |
| OCD | Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Scoring) |
| Catatonia | Bush-Francis Scale |
| Construct | Scale |
| Dementia | MMSE, (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) |
| Tardive Dyskinesia | AIMS |
| EPS | Simpson Angus Scale |
| Mania | Young Mania Rating Scale, CARS-M, Clinical Global Impressions-Mania |
| Irritability Autism | Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) |
| Delirium | CAM |
| Eating Disorder | Eating Disorder Examination |
8 Filter by clinical trial and systematic review
- You can filter by clinical trial or systematic review to narrow search.
- You can also sort by date if you want the most recent review
9 Other resources
- Search with pubmed tags. Here is a list of pubmed tags.
- Pubmed User guide