Library News

TDS Health hosts a variety of resources relevant to various health care disciplines, including STAT!Ref Titles. TDS Health provides:

• Full text access
• A search function that can search within the full text
• A built-in medical dictionary to help you while you read

Accessing TDS Health

From Library Services' homepage, select Search Sources in the top navigation bar. From the dropdown menu, select Databases. Select T, then TDS Health (formerly STAT!Ref).

Accessing STAT!Ref Titles

You can find a list of all the titles offered via STAT!Ref by selecting the STAT!Ref panel on the TDS Health homepage.

Searching tips

TDS Health’s search bar allows you to search within the full text of all available titles. To help you search better:

• Use keywords rather than entering a full sentence question.
• If you would like two or more words to be found adjacent to each other, use quotation marks (e.g. "myocardial infarction").
• Hyphenating terms will make the search find the words in that exact order (e.g. torsades-de-pointes).

Filtering search results

On the search results page, under FILTER BY on the left, you can filter your results.

• Custom Title Set lets you specify which titles you want to limit your search to. In the popup window, check off the titles you want to search in, then click on the floppy disk icon  in the top right.
• DATE RANGE lets you limit the publication date range.
• RELATED TO lets you specify the aspect of your topic you want to focus on. For example, if you searched ‘Tuberculosis’ and checked off ‘Diagnosis’, it will give you information specifically about diagnosing tuberculosis.
• ADVANCED SEARCH provides three helpful tools:

1. Suffixes searches for variations of your keywords (e.g. diabetes will also give you diabetic, diabetics, etc.).
2. Related Terms looks for synonyms for your keywords (e.g. heart attack will also give myocardial infarction).
3. Headings Only searches only within the Table of Contents.

Viewing an eBook

When viewing an ebook on TDS Health, the Table of Contents is always on the left-hand side for easy navigation between sections. In-text citations appear as superscript numbers; you can click on each number to find the full citation in the reference section.

At the top of the full text, the Tables and Figures tabs provide summaries of all the tables and figures used within the current section.

To search within the current book, click on the dropdown menu to the left of the search bar at the top of the page and select Current Title, then run your search.

TDS Health will highlight all the matching keywords within the text. To navigate between the highlighted keywords, use the Match arrows  at the top of the full text.

The Result arrows  let you navigate between all the results from the search results page.

Using Stedman’s Medical Dictionary

Stedman’s Medical Dictionary provides definitions for medical terms, abbreviations, acronyms, measurements, and more. It is offered through TDS Health and is also embedded into all the other titles on TDS Health.

To define a word within the text, simply highlight the word. A pop-up will appear with a dictionary definition as well as an audio pronunciation.

Getting the TDS Health Mobile App

If you would like to view the titles offered through TDS Health on your mobile phone, you can follow this link to the Mobile Apps and Resources subject guide for more information.

If you have questions about using STAT!Ref through TDS Health, reach out to us at AskLibrary@nshealth.ca or book a one-on-one consultation with a Library Services team member for help using this and other library resources.

Vinson Li

Librarian Educator
Yarmouth Regional Hospital, Western Zone

“Research is something that everyone can do, and everyone ought to do. It is simply collecting information and thinking systematically about it.” (Raewyn Connell, 2021)

The research process is made up of several steps, all of which are important to effectively answer a question. Whether you are carrying out a literature search or a systematic review, the research process can seem overwhelming, even confusing. You may feel confident about your search, but then wonder how to properly evaluate what you have found. This post will help you decide on important factors for screening result sets for inclusion or exclusion.

Screening your search results is the process of weeding out any inadequate articles that you obtain after running your searches (Dalhousie Libraries, 2021). Screening is an evaluation tool that can be applied not only to literature searches and formal reviews, but also when quickly looking for best evidence on a topic. Screening can help evaluate “in the moment” search results, such as those required for patient care.

The screening process can be performed by one reviewer or a team of reviewers, depending on the information need or type of study being conducted. For example, “in the moment” research results may only have one reviewer, while a scoping or systematic review may have a team of reviewers. It is important that all reviewers on a team adhere to the same screening criteria.

When screening your results, whether for a formal research project or to gather evidence "in the moment" to inform patient care, keep these tips in mind:

1. Establish inclusion and exclusion criteria – If you are working with a team of reviewers, all members must be clear on which criteria are going to be included and which are going to be excluded. For example, inclusion criteria could be all participants in a study must be 50 years old and over. This means that any study that discusses participants under the age of 50 will automatically be excluded from the search results.

If you are the only person screening search results to inform a patient care decision, it is useful to know the type of study that will provide evidence-based results to support a therapeutic choice, such as an adult woman deciding what blood thinners will best manage her atrial fibrillation.

2. Review results using established inclusion and exclusion criteria – Remove items that clearly do not fit inclusion criteria and those not from a trustworthy or credible source. In the informal, patient care example above, you can screen in systematic reviews and/or randomized controlled trials. 

3. Read the full-text – After determining which articles will be included, access and read the full-text. Read the articles using critical appraisal tools, screening for credible evidence, bias, and peer reviews. In more formal reviews, full-text screening is often categorized as the “second level of screening,” as it follows a more in-depth, rigorous process (Dalhousie Libraries, 2021).

4. Check for and remove any duplicates – If you are searching multiple sources, make sure you haven’t included the same item more than once. Many citation managers, such as Zotero, have a feature that will check your search results for duplicates. Be sure to check out Library Services’ Citation Management guide for further instruction.

Tools that will guide your screening work

The PRISMA Flow Diagram (Moher et al., 2009) is a great tool to help more formal research projects record and summarize the screening process. There are also several other tools to help you manage evidence synthesis and aid in the screening process. The University of Toronto Libraries provide excellent step-by-step instruction on screening search results for those researchers looking to dive deeper into the process. 

Screening your results is a vital step in the research process—whether you are gathering evidence for a formal publication or using it to inform a local project or patient care. Our tips and tools will make it easier for you to put the knowledge you find into action.

Reach out to us at AskLibrary@nshealth.ca with any questions you have about screening search results, or the research process in general. You can also book a one-on-one consultation with a Library Services team member. We are always here to help!

References

1. Dalhousie Libraries. (2021). Knowledge Syntheses: A How-To Guide. https://dal.ca.libguides.com/systematicreviews/selectionscreening

2. Fisher, S. (2021). 17 research quotes to inspire and amuse you. Qualtrics. https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/research-quotes/ 

3. Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 6(6): e1000097. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed1000097

Amanda Andrews

Librarian Educator, Education & Training Lead
Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Eastern Zone

Are you involved in patient care? Do you find it challenging to keep up to date with the latest clinical information related to COVID-19? You can use point-of-care tools at the bedside to check the best available evidence about diseases and conditions, including COVID-19.

A point-of-care tool is a digital reference resource designed to help with clinical decision making. Evidence within a point-of-care tool is appraised and synthesized from various sources, and updated frequently to ensure currency, reliability and accuracy. These tools can be used on desktop computers or mobile devices, with some available for use offline.

Through Library Services, Nova Scotia Health staff, physicians and learners have access to several point-of-care tools. This post outlines how to use BMJ Best Practice and Isabel to find clinical information related to COVID-19.

BMJ Best Practice

BMJ Best Practice is an evidence-based generalist point-of-care tool uniquely structured around the patient consultation, with advice on symptom evaluation, test ordering and treatment approach. BMJ Best Practice includes 1,000+ evidence-based condition and symptom topics across 32 clinical specialties. 

TIP BMJ Best Practice is most useful when you have a specific disease or condition, such as COVID-19, that you want to learn more about.

To access the desktop version, visit Library Services’ Databases A-Z page and click on ‘BMJ Best Practice’ from the list. Information about downloading and installing the mobile app can be found here.

Finding COVID-19 evidence in BMJ Best Practice (desktop version)

1. In the search bar at the top of the homepage, type in ‘COVID’. From the predictive text that appears, click on ‘COVID-2019’.
2. You will be directed to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) page. You can use the menu at the top of the page to navigate through sections such as Overview, Diagnosis and Management.
3. To view a customized treatment regime for COVID-19 based on a patient’s comorbidities, click on ‘Treatment algorithm’ from the top menu.

4. Select the applicable comorbidities from the list and click on ‘Show treatment algorithm’.

5. You can then navigate through the step-by-step treatment recommendations.

Isabel

Isabel is a web-based diagnosis checklist system. Enter the patient’s age, gender, and signs and symptoms, and Isabel instantly returns a list of possible diagnoses.

TIP Isabel is most useful when there is no clear diagnosis for a set of symptoms.

To access both the desktop and mobile versions, visit Library Services’ Databases A-Z page and click on ‘Isabel’ from the list.

Entering a patient’s clinical features in Isabel (desktop version)

1. In the Clinical features box on the left-hand side of the homepage, select the patient’s age, gender at birth and travel history.
2. Enter the patient’s abnormal clinical features (symptoms) by typing and clicking on the appropriate choices from the predictive text that appears. For example, sore throat, headache and runny nose.
3. Click on ‘Get Checklist’.
4. Potential diagnoses based on the clinical features entered will appear as a list in the Checklist box. For example, Coronavirus. Click on the + to the left of ‘Coronavirus’ to expand the section.
5. Click on ‘COVID-19’ for information about the topic.

6. From the menu on the left, you can navigate through various resources, including BMJ Best Practice, for evidence related to COVID-19.

For more support with COVID-19 evidence or point-of-care tools, reach out to us at AskLibrary@nshealth.ca or book a consultation with a Library Services staff member.

Kristy Hancock

Librarian Educator

UPDATED: February 6, 2019. Original Post: May 1, 2017.

Isabel – Differential Diagnosis Support from Desktop and Mobile Site

Isabel is a tool for diagnostic decision making. When a diagnosis is unclear, Isabel can help you narrow down the possibilities and confirm your current thinking.

Enter symptoms and clinical features into Isabel to retrieve a list of possible diagnoses (as well as guidelines and protocols) for review. Use the Don’t Miss feature to view conditions with higher diagnostic urgency.

TIPS Isabel is accessible from your desktop computer OR through the mobile site. When using the mobile site, keep in mind that you’ll need to be connected to Wi-Fi or your cellular data plan.
Turn off browser ad-blockers (pop-ups, new tabs) for Isabel’s URL. A new window is opened when you explore content in Isabel. You won’t be able to see this content unless you change your browser settings when prompted.

In Action [Mobile Site]

Start Using Isabel

Access Point: https://library.nshealth.ca/Isabel
App Username/Password: Request from asklibrary@nshealth.ca
Connectivity: WiFi or cellular connection required at all times.

BMJ Best Practice – In-depth Evidence Synthesis from Desktop and Mobile App

BMJ Best Practice is a point-of-care knowledge resource that synthesizes information about diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention for more than 900 conditions.

Use the main search box for general keywords or select Specialties for a full alphabetical list of clinical areas. BMJ Best Practice’s evidence-based summaries are updated regularly. Each summary includes links to relevant literature. 

TIPS  BMJ Best Practice is accessible from your desktop computer OR by downloading the mobile app. You can use the mobile app without being connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data, but you must remember to update the app regularly because the content is updated as new evidence emerges.

In Action [Mobile App]

Start Using BMJ Best Practice

Access Points: [desktop] [iPhone] [Android]
App Username/Password: Follow instructions here.
Connectivity: WiFi or cellular connection required for initial login and app updates. Connection not required once app is up to date. 

Find more support for accessing Isabel and BMJ Best Practice, and other subscription knowledge resources (including ClinicalKey®, PsychiatryOnline and Micromedex®) in our Mobile Apps & Resources guide.

Katie McLean

Librarian Educator, Education & Outreach
Dickson Building, Central Zone