Abstract
BackgroundThe growing quantity of Complementary and Alternative Medicine literature requires databases enabled with increasingly powerful search capabilities. To address this need in the area of acupuncture research, a bibliographic database of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews called AcuTrials® has been developed by the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. AcuTrials® introduces a comprehensive keyword thesaurus that categorizes details of treatment protocols and research design to an extent not currently available in MEDLINE or other databases.DescriptionAcuTrials®, which went live in January of 2010 and is updated monthly, currently contains over 1250 articles from more than 300 journals. Articles included are English language RCTs and systematic reviews that report on medical conditions in human subjects treated by needle acupuncture. Study details are indexed by 14 key domains, such as acupuncture style and needling protocol, to create an acupuncture-relevant, searchable keyword catalogue. Keywords follow the National Library of Medicine (NLM) MeSH terminology when possible, and new keywords were created in cases where no appropriate MeSH terms were available. The resulting keyword catalogue enables users to perform sensitive, targeted searches for particular aspects of acupuncture treatment and research design.ConclusionsAcuTrials® provides an extensive and innovative keyword catalogue of acupuncture research, allowing users to efficiently navigate, locate and assess the evidence base in ways not currently possible with other databases. By providing a more powerful suite of search options, the AcuTrials® database has the potential to enhance the accessibility and quality of acupuncture research.
Highlights
The growing quantity of Complementary and Alternative Medicine literature requires databases enabled with increasingly powerful search capabilities
Assessment of current medical information. This obstacle is especially pronounced in the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), where, among other difficulties, many CAM-relevant search terms either vary among databases or are non-existent [1,2,3,4]
AcuTrialsW was developed with two main aims in mind: First, to provide a complete, web-based, searchable database of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of acupuncture; Second, to populate the database with a comprehensive, acupuncture-specific keyword list that will facilitate efficient, targeted searches of the acupuncture literature
Summary
Medical research should translate into improved patient care. For this translation to occur, health-care providers must keep informed of the current evidence base. The dearth of specific search terms for acupuncture research and treatment on PubMed often yields poor returns of relevant articles. AcuTrialsW was developed with two main aims in mind: First, to provide a complete, web-based, searchable database of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of acupuncture; Second, to populate the database with a comprehensive, acupuncture-specific keyword list that will facilitate efficient, targeted searches of the acupuncture literature. All relevant hits are reviewed, and articles selected for inclusion are English language randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews reporting on medical conditions in human subjects treated by needle acupuncture. Domains of data extraction Each article included in AcuTrialsW is entered through a systematic process to generate searchable keywords, resulting in greater breadth and specificity than is available in existing bibliographic databases. There are 39 Disease Category terms and over 300 Condition Category terms
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