Searching EMBASE

Alex DenbyRegional MI ManagerLondon Medicines Information Service(Northwick Park Hospital)

Session aims

To understand the concepts of a basic search strategy in Embase

To describe the EMTREE thesaurus in detail so that you will be able to apply EMTREE to use Embase efficiently

To carry out advanced Embase searches

Plan

What is Embase? (precourse material)

Medline v Embase (precourse material)

EMTREE NLH Software – searching tools Worked Examples

Searching EMBASE Controlled vocabulary = EMTREE Uses natural language US spellings rather than British INNs used where possible Acronyms & abbreviations can be

used Tree Structure – Hierarchy Indexing: Terms added/Drug names

Open Internet and type: http://www.evidence.nhs.uk/default.aspx

Select ‘Specialist resources’ / ‘Search Specialist Databases’

Enter Athens password Click on “Healthcare Database Advanced

Search” and select Embase

NLH Software

NLH Software

Embase 1974 to date 2 options to search for terms:

Thesaurus mappingBrowse headings

Explode Includes everything below in the tree

structure.‘exp’ is put before keyword in results

Major description (Focus)Only includes articles where the MeSH

heading (descriptor) is the main focus of the article

‘’ is put before keyword in results

Explode/Major descriptor

Many more subheading options for drugs compared with Medlinee.g. diclofenac

By choosing ‘Select’, all subheadings for the term will be chosen without either Exploding or Majoring on the term.

Subheadings

No real need to use them in EMBASE Most medicines have EMTREE terms

– even recently licensed ones If a drug hasn’t got an EMTREE term

assigned – use free text

CAS numbers

Limit searches in similar way to Medline

Differences compared with Medline

Limits

Publication types have their own facet / tree top of EMTREE terms that are searchable

Facet J: types of article or study Build up your search and combine in

the usual way (using BOOLEAN) with other search terms

Publication types

Worked example 1

Are there any papers specifically about the use of linezolid for the treatment of MRSA?

(Workshop question 1)

Worked example 2

Are there any review articles about inhaler use in asthmatic children under 4?

(Workshop question 2)

Worked example 3

Is there any evidence that minocycline is more effective than any of the other tetracyclines that are licensed for the treatment of acne (tetracycline, lymecycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline)?

(Workshop question 5)

Any questions?