Hot Topics, Guidelines & Standards: December 2007

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released the following policy statements:

• “Late-preterm” infants: A population at risk
• Patient safety in the pediatric emergency care setting
• Recognizing and responding to medical neglect
• Recommendations for preventive pediatric health care
• Role of schools in combating illicit substance abuse
• Technical report: Diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in children younger than 18 months in the United States

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has released a position paper in Annals of Internal Medicine, (4 Dec 2007), 147(11):792-794 on pay-for-performance principles that promote patient-centered care.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has published a new statement in Circulation, 116(24):2878, on the safety of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with cardiovascular devices.

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has updated their guidelines on the role of endoscopy in dyspepsia.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has recently published the following:

• Update of recommendations for the use of tumor markers in breast cancer
• Clinical practice guideline on the use of epoetin and darbepoetin
• Recommendations for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and treatment of patients with cancer
• Cancer Care Ontario and American Society of Clinical Oncology adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation therapy for stages I-IIIA resectable non-small-cell lung cancer guideline

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the following:

• Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents
• Recommendations for use of quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine (MCV4) in children 2-10 years
• Updated information regarding antiretroviral agents used as HIV postexposure prophylaxis for occupational HIV exposures

United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated the following recommendations:

• Screening for carotid artery stenosis
• Screening for high blood pressure

Excerpted and edited, from ECRI Institute, HCS Update. http://hcs.ecri.org/news/

ECRI Institute's Healthcare Standards Directory is available at the Rudolph Matas Medical Library, Ready Reference , W 22 AA1 H42 2007.

World AIDS Day - December 1, 2007

December 1, 2007 marked the 20th observance of World AIDS Day. The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988. World AIDS Day provides governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals with an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic. In 2007, the estimated number of persons living with HIV worldwide was 33.2 million and there were 2.1 million AIDS deaths.


Additional information regarding World AIDS Day and HIV prevention is available:

• www.who.int/hiv : World Health Organization (WHO) and HIV AIDS
• www.cdc.gov/hiv: Centers for Disease Control (CDC) HIV site
• http://www.aids.gov/: a gateway to all Federal domestic information on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment, research, policies and resources.
• http://www.pepfar.gov/: President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
• http://www.hivtest.org/: HIV testing resources. Enter your zip code to find an HIV testing site near you!

http://www.worldaidsday.org/: brochures and information about international events.

Pandemic Influenza, John Barry's comments on recent research

John M. Barry's 2004 book on the 1918 pandemic, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, is regarded as a definitive historical review of that event (available in the Rudolph Matas Library, WC 515 B279 2004). A recent exchange between John Barry, Tulane's Center for Bioenvironmental Research, and Howard Markel, et. al. was published in JAMA's November 21st issue concerning the August 8th publication (JAMA 2007;298:644-654) titled: Nonpharmaceutical Interventions Implemented by US Cities During the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic.

The Center for Infectious Disease and Policy has posted on its website an additional commentary by John Barry. Here's the link (and also links to the letter exchange and the original article) which includes introductory comments by Mike Osterholm:
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/nov2707barry.html

Selected readings on pandemic influenza are available on the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy website, http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/readings/index.html

Rising Journal Costs Limit Scholarly Access

A annual subscription to the journal, Brain was $17,444 in 2001, and now the same subscription costs $21,269. According to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) scholarly journal prices jumped 215 per cent during the 15-year period between 1986 and 2001. Electronic journals have only increased this trend of escalating subscription costs by forcing libraries to subscribe to groups of titles. In addition there is a concentration of a few companies that publish around 4,000 scholarly journals. There is also a trend of publishers charging for electronic copies of journals that used to be free with print subscriptions. The result of these ever increasing prices are cancellations of titles, cancellation of print in favor of electronic versions and the cutting other library budgets, such as the funding for books.

Just as some of the libraries in the article, the Rudolph Matas Library has converted journal subscriptions to electronic formats only (after Katina), in 2006.

The article by Emory suggests a few possible solutions to this crisis. Open access, with costs are paid by universities, foundations, federal agencies or others. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), an organization dedicated to the promotion of scholarship through competitive alternatives to commercial publishing. Emory also holds institutional memberships with several other the open access publishers such as BioMed Central and the Public Library of Science (PloS).

Scholarly societies are investigating changing current publishing models. The articles also suggests that the academic community has the influence to change the current situation.

1) Carefully examine the pricing, copyright, and subscription licensing agreements of any journal you contribute to as an author, reviewer or editor.

2) Examine copyright agreements before publishing and modify them if possible to ensure your right to use your work or post it on a public archive. ...

3) Where possible, publish in open access journals which employ funding models that do not charge readers or their institutions for access. Serve on editorial boards or review manuscripts for open access journals. (For a list of open access journals, see the Directory of Open Access Journals.

4) Encourage your society to explore alternatives to contacting or selling its publications to a commercial publisher.

5) Start your own open access journal!

Special Report: Rising Journal Costs Limit Scholarly Access INFOcus September 2007 > Courtesy of Emory University

RefWorks

RefWorks functions with Microsoft Word and other word processors to create footnotes, citations and a bibliography for your papers, formatted into the correct style (APA, Chicago Style, etc.). Come for a demonstration to see how RefWorks works with library databases. RefWorks helps organize and manage your research: import references from many databases, quickly add citations to your papers, and easily create reference lists in many formats (eg. APA, Chicago). RefWorks is online, so you can access your account from any web-enabled computer.

Class and group instruction is also available.

To learn more contact the Matas Reference Desk or try the RefWorks tutorial.

About RefWorks

Tulane Memory enhanced by a recent donation the Matas History Collection

The History Collection of the Matas Library has a number of resources from the founding of the Medical School in 1834. These historic items include the prospectus and lecture tickets. Our collection was recently enhanced by N. Robert Elson, M.D. (1979).

Dr. Elson donated a historic copy of the Weekly Picayune, Sept. 23, 1844 to the Matas History Collection. The paper includes an ad for the Medical College of Louisiana, Session of 1844-1845. The ad, which appears on page 255, lists the annual course of lectures with the faculty; John Harrison, M.D., James Jones, M.D., Warren Stone, M.D., J.L. Riddell, M.D., A.H Cenas, M.D. (Dean), A. H. Carpenter, M.D., A. J. Wedderburn, M.D. and John F. Eustis. The paper will be exhibited in the case at the entrance to the Matas Library.

What else happened in 1844 at the Medical School? A school library was established and a librarian was hired. Dr. Isidore Labatut donated several hundred valuable works, spurring the faculty to establish a library in April 25, 1844. For more information concerning the Medical Department of the University of Louisiana in 1844 read the 1984 book by John Duffy titled: The Tulane University Medical Center: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Medical Education.

What is Citation Linker? GOT PMID?

If you have a citation for a journal article from a database, bibliography or a reading list "Citation Linker" can be used to create a menu of online resources where that full-text article may be located in Tulane e-Journals.

• How do I use the Citation Linker?

Health Science articles are often located by using the Medline databases, such as PubMed or Ovid. If you have a citation from Medline you may enter only the PMID number (in Ovid this is called the UI). If you do not have a PMID number, you may type in a journal title along with other citation information. Click on the GO button to see what options are available.

If the Library does not own a particular journal title you may be directed to the interlibrary loan system, ILLiad. You must register to use this system. English language health science articles are usually supplied within two working days to our Health Science Center users. All the details are not currently transferring to the ILL form, so don't forget to copy and paste the PMID or UI and type in the year of publication before submitting your request.

Try the New Version of Ovid, OvidSP

Select “Try OVIDSP!” on the “Choose a database” page
OvidSP is available NOW! OvidSP is a search engine of choice for Medline, HealthStar, Global Health, and the evidence based medicine databases. A new feature is that you may select and search groups of databases in one search.

What makes it different and why all of the hype in the library? The new OVIDSP delivers an interface that transforms the way you work. Geared to all user types—from the novice to the advanced searcher—it allows you to use Natural Language like “what are the risk factors for hospital acquired infections” OR use the traditional OVID search methods by building MeSH terms and subheadings. All in all, OVID SP is an intuitive search interface with better user workflow tools that allows for a more powerful, simplified, and faster search experience.

If you prefer, the Old OVID searching is still available by selecting “OVID Syntax”

Don’t worry, all OVID accounts, searches, and alerts will still be available through OVIDSP.

If there are any questions or concerns, please contact the Library’s Reference Department at 504-988-5155 or medref@tulane.edu .

By the way, the old OVID Gateway will be terminated in February 2008.

James Doty, Rudolph Matas Library Benefactor

Dr. James Doty was profiled in a Wall Street Journal. (Friday, July 6, 2007), Giving Till it Hurts. Dr. Doty has donated $29 million to charity, which is about 99% of his net worth. In addition to his donations outlined in the Wall Street Journal article he has made recent donations to Tulane, a portion of which is dedicated to the renovation of the Rudolph Matas Library.


Dr. Doty, a neurosurgeon in Mississippi, is a graduate of Tulane School of Medicine and fondly recalls his historic research done in the Matas Library with the assistance of Patsy Copeland, who retired in 2003.

National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM)

In October the National Library of Medicine celebrates National Medical Librarians Month 2007.

The Medical Library Association created the NMLM observance to raise awareness of the important role of the health information professional. Patients and those in the health care community need the specialized services that medical librarians provide now more than ever before.

Turn to your Medical Librarian for quality health information.

Ask a Librarian, medref@tulane.edu

NPR report on PEW study: E-patients With a Disability or Chronic Disease

E-patients With a Disability or Chronic Disease / Susannah Fox, Associate Director, View PDF of Report

Just half of adults with chronic conditions use the Internet; but once online, they are avid consumers of health information. Monday, October 8, 2007

NPR correspondent Joseph Shapiro reported on the recent Pew Report (Morning Edition, October 11, 2007) Patients Turn to the Internet for Health Information.

In addition to the PEW report concerning the medical searching behavior of people with disabilities and chronic conditions, another recent experiment involved the online research behavior of cancer patients. One group had print materials, one group was directed to good medical information on the Internet and the third group had undirected access to the Internet. Not everyone did well finding reliable medical information online, but in conclusion, the health professional vetted medical systems, such as those recommended by the Medical Library Association continued to be utilized by patients, and helped them become better informed. These users are likely more willing to ask their physicians questions and take more responsibility in the medical decision making process.

There are many informative medical information sites. A good entry point to advise medical consumers to utilize are the sites recommended and evaluated by the Medical Library Association.

• A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
• "Top Ten" Most Useful Consumer Health Web Sites

Check out the Medical Consumer Recommendations of your Medical Librarians.

Medical Education in Post-Katrina New Orleans

COMMENTARY - Medical Education in Post-Katrina New Orleans: A Story of Survival and Renewal / N. Kevin Krane, MD, Richard P. DiCarlo, MD, Marc J. Kahn, MD

JAMA. 2007 Sep 5;298(9):1052-5.

THE MOST COSTLY NATIONAL DISASTER IN US HISTORY occurred on August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf coasts, and the ensuing breaches in the New Orleans levee system resulted in flooding of approximately 80% of the city. The survival of Tulane University School of Medicine and Louisiana State University School of Medicine at New Orleans (LSU), both located in downtown New Orleans, was severely jeopardized as every major educational and teaching facility flooded following the storm, closing both undergraduate and graduate medical training programs. However, both schools quickly moved their educational programs to new locations and reestablished training for students and residents 1 month later. Tulane and LSU have now returned their educational programs to New Orleans despite faculty losses, closure of some traditional training hospitals, and a diminished population of greater New Orleans. The ability of both schools to survive and thrive has significant long-term implications for the delivery of health care in the region and the ability to train future physicians for the state of Louisiana.

Read more: JAMA Online version available to Tulane users

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (HistSciTechMed)

The History of Science, Technology and Medicine, is the first of our databases to migrate from the Eureka (RLG) platform. At this point, it is not cross-searchable with other FirstSearch databases. This database is international in coverage (since 1973) and integrates four bibliographies that reflect the influence of medicine on society and culture from prehistory to the present. This interdisciplinary database and includes journal articles, conference proceedings, books, dissertations, serials, maps and other materials.

Come Meet with your Librarians, Library Lunchtime classes, begin Sept.17, Tidewater Computer Lab

There will be a series of Library Lunchtime classes open to the TUHSC community in the Tidewater Computer Lab, Room 1220 (1440 Canal Street). All classes are scheduled from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and no reservation is required. The first of the series will cover general electronic resources and the library website. There will be time for specific questions and problems. Mark your calendars for the classes that interest you.

• Monday, September 17, 2007 - Overall Library Resources
• Thursday, September 27, 2007 - OVID vs PubMed (MEDLINE Battle)
• Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - RefWorks (Citation Management)
• Thursday, November 1, 2007 - Major Non-Medline Databases
• Monday, November 12, 2007 - RefWorks (Citation Management)

Medic Latina, Busque Aquí

Medic Latina is a Spanish language collection of medical research and investigative journals. This database provides access to full text peer-reviewed medical journals in native Spanish [available in native (searchable) PDF, or scanned-in-color]. A wide range of topics include neuroscience, cardiology, nephrology, biomedicine, clinical research, pediatrics, human reproduction, clinical pathology, cancer research, and hematology. Examples of publications in this database include Revista Medica del IMSS, Revista Mexicana de Patologia Clinica, Boletin Medico del Hospital Infantil de Mexico, Archivos de Neurociencias, Revista Biomedica, Veterinaria Mexico, Salud Publica de Mexico, ACIMED, and more.

There are a number of helpful tips and hints you can use to improve your search results. Ask if you need assistance.

LinkOut Problems in PubMed

There is a problem with online links going to a blank page in PubMed when trying to link to full-text Tulane resources. It is a systemic PubMed problem that affects all LinkOut and Outside Tool libraries. NLM is aware of the problem with PubMed and is currently working vigorously to resolve the problem.

We will keep you posted on the resolution of this issue. Resolved: Oct. 11.2007

From: The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region (NN/LM SCR), (Monday, 01 October, 2007 11:28)

Gale Virtual Reference Library

The Virtual Reference Library contains full-text versions of major reference works. Of special interest is is the new addition, The Encyclopedia of Biostatistics. The following health related resources are also available .

• NEW Encyclopedia of Biostatistics 2nd ed., 8v, 2005
• Cambridge Historical Dictionary of Disease 2003
• Encyclopedia of Bioterrorism Defense 2005
• Encyclopedia of Public Health 4v, 2002
• Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer 2nd ed., 2v, 2006
• Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy through Adolescence 4v, 2006
• Encyclopedia of Health and Aging 2007

A forthcoming title is the Encyclopedia of Epidemiology, (due December of 2007).

Drug Resources: Beyond the PDR

The Rudolph Matas Library has many excellent pharmaceutical resources available electronically.

Databases:
*MD Consult - Search the "Drugs" tab at the main page
*STAT!Ref - Includes DrugPoints System, Litt's Drug Eruption Reference Manual and USP DI Advice for the Patient. You may search multiple sources simultaneously.

E-Books:
*AHFS DRUG INFORMATION - (in R2 Books) AHFS DI is an unbiased source of drug information and includes evidence-based data.

*Goodman & Gilman's Pharmacology - (in AccessMedicine)

* Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs - (in Science Direct)

All of the e-books above and more may also be located by searching the Library Catalog. "IF OFF-CAMPUS" you must authenticate at the key on the Library Homepage.

Finding a GREAT online dictionary

The following online dictionaries are licensed by Tulane Libraries.


• Credo Reference Covers: More than 150 reference books, such as dictionaries, thesauri, and encyclopedias, from about 30 respected publishers. Medical dictionaries are included.

• Stedman's Medical Dictionary (as part of Stat!Ref) is included under "STAT!Ref Resources". Link to Stat!Ref

• Oxford English dictionary (Online) An authoritative English dictionary providing access to the definitive record of the meaning, history and evolution of words. It includes quotations from a wide range of sources.

For other links See "Dictionaries, Quotes, & Thesauri Reference Web Sites"

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)

A new release in preventive service was announced by the USPSTF, Primary Care Counseling for Proper Use of Motor Vehicle Occupant Restraints.

The Task Force, which is supported by AHRQ, is the leading independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care. These recommendations are considered the gold standard for clinical preventive services. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ supports health services research that will improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decisionmaking.

For more information about the Task Force, its methods and other recommendations, go to http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm.

Journal Ranking Systems, Journal Citation Reports (ISI) and Eigenfactor

Journal Citation Reports (ISI) help in the evaluation and comparison Of academic journals. Journal Citation Reports show the:

• Most frequently cited journals in a field
  
• Highest impact journals in a field
  
• Largest journals in a field

The citation and article counts are indicators that current researchers are using individual journals. By tabulating and aggregating citation and article counts, JCR offers a perspective for journal evaluation and comparison.

Eigenfactor ranks journals similar to how Google ranks websites. This is a non-commercial network-based journal ranking system sponsored by the Bergstrom Lab (Department of Biology, University of Washington).

Compare JCR with Eigenfactor. The links to the following pages will help you understand the different services.

• Using Journal Citation Reports Wisely
  
• About Eigenfactor

Academic Medicine, Special Disaster Issue (Aug.2007)

Excerpt from the Editor of Academic Medicine - A "new challenge is emerging: all institutions, including those of academic medicine, are increasingly at risk of facing major disasters, both natural and man-made. ...This is also a very special collection for another reason: several of the articles provide insight into the extraordinary commitment that members of the academic medicine community have to the students and residents whom they are educating ..." ([From the Editor] - Responding to Disasters: Lessons for Academic Health Science Centers / Whitcomb, Michael E. MD (pg. 731-732)

Link to Academic medicine, 82(8) August 2007

Issue Contents include: Tulane University School of Medicine / Krane, N Kevin MD (pg. 802-803) -- Baylor College of Medicine's Support of Tulane University School of Medicine Following Hurricane Katrina / Searle, Nancy S. EdD; the Writing Committee (pg. 745-756) -- Surviving Hurricane Katrina: Reconstructing the Educational Enterprise of Tulane University School of Medicine / Krane, N Kevin MD; Kahn, Marc J. MD; Markert, Ronald J. PhD; Whelton, Paul K. MD; Traber, Peter G. MD; Taylor, Ian L. MD, PhD (pg. 763-768) -- Coping with Disaster: Relocating a Residency Program / Conlay, Lydia A. MD, PhD; Searle, Nancy S. EdD; Gitlin, Melvin C. MD (pg. 763-768)

ILLiad requests are now free.

The Rudolph Matas Library will no longer charge a $2 fee for interlibrary loan requests. ILLiad, our interlibrary loan service, provides efficient online delivery service for documents that are not in the library collection. Book and book chapters can also be requested. The Library reserves the right to limit the number of requests submitted by an individual.

Interlibrary loan service is restricted to current Tulane Health Sciences Center faculty, students, staff, and employees of the Tulane Hospital and Clinic. http://matas-lib.tulane.edu/

EXAM MASTER Update

Recently Exam Master published over 300 new medical science questions. These questions cover a number of product outlines including USMLE and the Certification Review Series. If you create general topic or subject exams, you will see these questions intermixed with existing questions. http://www.exammaster2.com/wdsentry/tulane.htm

• Medical Students – USMLE Review – All three steps!
• Residents – USMLE Review, Medical Specialty Board Review
• Physicians – Medical Specialty Board Review, perfect for certification or recertification

Users must register and if off-campus authenticate on the Library webpage.

Exhibit on the History of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

A new exhibit in the Rudolph Matas Library features gastrointestinal instruments on loan from the collection of Dr. George E. Welch. The display includes a historical timeline of gastrointestinal endoscopy from 1804 to the present. The exhibit is located in the glass cases in the hallway off the main reading area. We are grateful to Dr. Welch (photo to right) and Dr. John J. Hutchings for their efforts in making this exhibit possible.

CognitionSearch™ - Trial a new MEDLINE search engine using natural language

Better than PubMed? OVID?

This summer, the Rudolph Matas Library is serving as a testing ground for a new MedLine search engine. It is called CognitionSearch™. What makes this any different from other search engines? It allows users to search in natural language, phrases, or boolean logic but the results are based on meaning rather than proximity or hierarchies of subject headings. Try it and compare with your favorite MedLine search engines. Please submit feedback via the feedback link. By the way, they are randomly offering weekly cash prizes to those who submit feedback.

Better? You be the judge @ http://www.cognitionsearch.com/health .

New Blog for Health Sciences Library

http://matasmedlibrary.blogspot.com/


New Blog address for the Rudolph Matas Library.


Tulane University Health Sciences Center
1430 Tulane Avenue
New Orleans, LA


Find our library: http://www2.tulane.edu/about_campus_hsc.cfm
Hutchinson Memorial Building (2nd Floor)