Drug Information Lecture 2

Drug Information Lecture 2

• Lecture by Dr. Sahar Badr
• Covered drug information resources including primary and secondary sources
• Secondary sources describe, discuss, review, analyze, evaluate, interpret, summarize information from primary research
• Act as an intermediary between primary and tertiary literature
• Connect researchers directly to original research articles and reviews
• Examples of secondary sources include indexing and abstracting sources

Sources of Drug Information Databases

• PubMed/MEDLINE: A journal citation database from the National Library of Medicine
  • Provides over 31 million references to biomedical and life sciences journal articles (back to 1950)
  • PubMed (since 1997), contains MEDLINE plus other citations (non-medical journals, e-books)
  • Provides access to lots of biomedical literature databases, with MEDLINE being the largest
  • Searches across all databases by default, but can be limited to MEDLINE only
• EMBASE: An established (1947) biomedical database
  • Focuses on drugs, pharmacology, medical devices, clinical medicine, and relevant basic sciences
  • Includes articles and journals indexed in MEDLINE, plus biomedical journals not covered by MEDLINE
  • Includes 3,365 unique journals and 8,451 currently published journals
  • May be costly for some libraries to access
• SCOPUS: A large abstract and citation database
  • Includes peer-reviewed scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings
  • Covers diverse fields (science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities)
  • Contains 8,500 peer-reviewed journals in addition to MEDLINE citations
  • Updated daily
• WEB OF SCIENCE: Extremely broad coverage
  • Includes literature in agriculture, biological sciences, engineering, medical, life sciences, law, library sciences, architecture, dance, music, film, and theater
  • Has over 8,500 major journals from 150 disciplines
  • Updated weekly

Other Databases

• TOXNET (TOXLINE): Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and environmental health
• Cochrane Library: Provides evidence-based medicine databases
  • Focuses on medical literature to support healthcare decision-making
  • Includes systematic reviews and clinical trials
• Pillbox: Enables rapid identification of unknown solid-dosage medications (tablets/capsules) based on their physical characteristics (shape, size, color, imprint) and high-resolution images
• ClinicalKey: A medical resource, searchable through various interfaces
• Google Scholar: Widely used for research
• Web of Science: Another broad database
• ProQuest: Another comprehensive database

PubMed/MEDLINE Detail

• Provides access to detailed biomedical literature databases.
• The core aspect, MEDLINE, is the largest among those database resources.
• PubMed search terms automatically search all databases by default. However, one can search specifically only within MEDLINE
• PubMed is associated with the National Library of Medicine (NLM)

MeSH

• Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
• A closed vocabulary used by MEDLINE for organizing literature
• Restricts searches to identified keywords
• Groups similar topics
• Example categories include Anatomy, Organisms, Diseases, Drugs, Techniques, and so on
• Hierarchical listing of terms from general to specific
• Offers a structured way to search medical literature

Advantages of Secondary Literature

• Quick access to primary literature
• Broad scope/concise information on various topics
• Generally, peer-reviewed and high quality journal sources
• Updated information via regular updates (e.g., weekly, monthly)

Disadvantages of Secondary Literature

• Lag time between publication and inclusion in secondary databases (days to weeks)
• Number of indexed journals is dependent on the specific database scope
• Requires proficiency in sifting/screening to find exact information.

How to Use Secondary Literature

• Databases are focused on various topics
• Linking keywords and terms
• Providing author, title, publication details, and often abstracts of the articles

This lecture covers essential drug information resources, focusing on primary and secondary sources. It highlights the role of secondary sources in connecting researchers to original research articles and reviews, along with examples like PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE. Join us to enhance your understanding of drug information databases.