Search strings for efficient retrieval of Manual Therapy literature in PubMed database

Background and Objectives Evidence-based practice is a pressing issue for physiotherapy. The breadth and quality of research in the current literature demand a robust methodological strategy. Once a question is formulated, physical therapists must plan their search strategy including identification of search terms and databases. The aim of this study was to construct PubMed search strings that could efficiently retrieve studies on manual therapy (MT) for time-constrained clinicians. Materials and Methods Our team chose eleven Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms describing MT along with 84 additional potential terms. For each term able to retrieve more than 100 abstracts, we systematically extracted a sample of abstracts from which we estimated the proportion of studies potentially relevant to MT. We then constructed two search strings: one narrow (threshold of pertinent articles ≥40%) and one expanded (including all terms for which the proportion was calculated). We evaluated the efficiency of the proposed PubMed search strings to identify relevant articles included in a systematic review on MT for chronic low back pain. Results Fifty-five search terms were able to extract more than 100 citations. The narrow search strategy retrieved all the randomized controlled trials included in the selected systematic review. Discussion The narrow string demonstrated its efficiency. Nevertheless, our included terms emphasize that published research on MT is heavily biased towards manipulative techniques. The expanded search string could be useful when less precision, when a larger number of articles might be acceptable to the user. Conclusions The proposed PubMed search strings are able to locate potentially pertinent articles and could assist health care professionals to review the large number of MT studies efficiently. References 1. Maciejewski ML, Diehr P, Smith MA, Hebert P. Common methodological terms in health services research and their synonyms [correction of symptoms]. Med Care. 2002 Jun;40(6):477-84. 2. Mattioli S, Zanardi F, Baldasseroni A, Schaafsma F, Cooke RM, Mancini G, Fierro M, Santangelo C, Farioli A, Fucksia S, Curti S, Violante FS, Verbeek J. Search strings for the study of putative occupational determinants of disease. Occup Environ Med. 2010 Jul;67(7):436-43. 3. Schaafsma F, Hulshof C, de Boer A, et al. Effectiveness and efficiency of a literature search strategy to answer questions on the etiology of occupational diseases: a controlled trial. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2007;80:239-47. 4. Shariff SZ, Sontrop JM, Haynes RB, Iansavichus AV, McKibbon KA, Wilczynski NL, Weir MA, Speechley MR, Thind A, Garg AX. Impact of PubMed search filters on the retrieval of evidence by physicians. CMAJ. 2012 Feb 21;184(3):E184-90. Epub 2012 Jan 16. 5. Verbeek J, Salmi J, Pasternack I, et al. A search strategy for occupational health intervention studies. Occup Environ Med 2005;62:682-7.