231
Aldemar Araujo Castro
Sao Paulo Med J/Rev Paul Med 1999; 117(6):231-2. There is no t a simple answer to this. Two
e le c tro nic p ub lic a tio ns a re w o rking in this directio n. O ne is the
Cocha ne Libra ry
and the o ther is theBest Evidence,
no w in its 3 rd versio n; unfo rtuna tely there is no t o ne “ b est” publicatio n. The cho ice o f technique depends o n the na ture o f the da ta ne e de d; fo r e a c h publicatio n there are pro s and co ns. Belo w are co pies o f the descriptio ns o f each o ne.The
Cochra ne Libra ry
is an electro nic p ub lic a tio n d e sig ne d to sup p ly hig h q ua lity e vid e nc e to info rm p e o p le p ro vid ing a nd re c e iving c a re , a nd tho se re sp o nsib le fo r research, teaching , funding and administratio n at all levels. It is published quarterly o n CD-RO M a nd the Inte rne t, a nd is d istrib ute d o n a subscriptio n basis. The Abstracts o f Co chrane Re vie w s a re a va ila b le w itho ut c ha rg e . The C o c hra ne Lib ra ry inc lud e s: The C o c hra ne Da ta b a se o f Syste ma tic Re vie w s - Re g ula rly updated, co ntaining 1 ,2 8 7 reviews o f the effects o f health care; Database o f Abstracts o f Reviews o f Effe c tive ne ss - C ritic a l a sse ssme nts a nd structured abstracts o f 2 ,4 7 0 systematic reviews published elsewhere; The Co chrane Co ntro lled Tria ls Reg ister - Bib lio g ra phic info rma tio n o n 2 5 0 , 7 9 8 c o ntro lle d tria ls; o the r so urc e s o f info rmatio n o n the science o f reviewing researchIs the re a be st single source of re liable
e vide nce about the e ffe cts of he alth care ?
and evidence-based health care. Also included in The Co chrane Library: The Co chrane Review Me tho d o lo g y Da ta b a se - a b ib lio g ra p hy o f articles and bo o ks o n the science o f research synthesis; A handbo o k o n critical appraisal and the science o f reviewing research; A g lo ssary o f me tho d o lo g ic a l te rms; C o nta c t d e ta ils fo r Co llabo rative Review G ro ups and o ther entities in the C o c hra ne C o lla b o ra tio n; N e tting the Evide nc e - whe re to find info rma tio n o n the Internet o n using evidence in practice. W ebsite: http : / / w w w. up d a te -so ftw a re . c o m/ c c w e b / co chrane/ cdsr.htm
Best Evidence
is the easy way to access the reliable evidence yo u need to so lve clinical pro blems and pro vide co nsistent, state-o f-the-art patient care. In o ne easy-to -search database yo u g et every issue o f bo th ACP Jo urnal Club (fro m 1 9 9 1 to 1 9 9 8 ) and Evidence-Based Medicine (fro m 1 9 9 5 -1 9 9 8 ); mo re than 1 1 0 0 abstracts. The e d ito rs o f the se c ritic a lly a c c la ime d publicatio ns review mo re than 9 0 jo urnals in internal medicine and o ther specialties such as family practice, pediatrics, o bstetrics, psychiatry, g yneco lo g y, and surg ery. They cho o se o nly tho se articles that meet strict selectio n criteria fo r study desig n. Each article selected is summarized in a struc ture d a b stra c t, w ith e xp e rt c o mme nta ry232
Sao Paulo Med J/Rev Paul Med 1999; 117(6):231-2.
putting the info rmatio n in clinical perspective. Best Evidence is a co nvenient way to stay o n to p o f yo ur jo urnal reading , pro viding instant electro nic access to mo re than 1 1 0 0 abstracts in o ne CD-RO M. It is the fastest and least expensive way to access precise summaries o f the best studies o f the therapeutics, diag no sis, pro g no sis, etio lo g y, quality impro vement, and eco no mics o f clinical pro blems. W ebsite: http:/ / www.acpo nline.o rg / catalo g / cbi/ best_evidence.htm
Co mplementary publicatio ns, bo th in CD-RO Ms, are fundamental fo r tho se who need hig h quality evidence to info rm peo ple pro viding and re c e iving c a re , a nd tho se re sp o nsib le fo r research, teaching , funding and administratio n at all levels, in o ther wo rds, fo r everyo ne aware o f the best info rmatio n o n health care.
POSTSCRIPT
Sinc e this e d ito ria l w a s w ritte n a ne w publicatio n has been launched. Clinical Evidence
is a ha lf-ye a rly, c o mp e nd ium o f up d a te s o n e vid e nc e o f the e ffe c ts o f c o mmo n c linic a l inte rve ntio ns, p ro d uc e d jo intly b y the BM J Publishing G ro up and the American Co llege o f Physicians - American So ciety o f Internal Medicine. It pro vides a co ncise acco unt o f the current state o f kno wledge, igno rance, and uncertainty abo ut the preventio n and treatment o f a wide range o f clinical co nditio ns based o n tho ro ug h searches o f the literature. It is no t a textbo o k o f medicine no r a bo o k o f guidelines. It summarizes the best available evidence, and where there is no go o d evidence, it sa ys so . W ith ea c h suc c essive issue Clinic a l Evidence will both update and expand its coverage. The initial fo cus will be o n the effects o f preventive and therapeutic interventio ns as demo nstrated by rando mized trials and systematic reviews o f such trials. W ebsite: http:/ / www.evidence.o rg
Aldem a r Ara újo Ca stro - MD, MChir. Deputy Edito r o f São Paulo Medical Jo urnal. E-mail: aldemar.dcir@ epm.br
