Khan Maaz A, Mowforth Oliver D, Kuhn Isla, Kotter Mark R N, Davies Benjamin M
Academic Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosurgery, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
University of Cambridge Medical Library, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Health Info Libr J. 2023 Jun;40(2):181-189. doi: 10.1111/hir.12373. Epub 2021 Aug 19.
Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a recently proposed umbrella term for symptomatic cervical spinal cord compression secondary to degeneration of the spine. Currently literature searching for DCM is challenged by the inconsistent uptake of the term 'DCM' with many overlapping keywords and numerous synonyms.
Here, we adapt our previous Ovid medline search filter for the Ovid embase database, to support comprehensive literature searching. Both embase and medline are recommended as a minimum for systematic reviews.
References contained within embase identified in our prior study formed a 'development gold standard' reference database (N = 220). The search filter was adapted for embase and checked against the reference database. The filter was then validated against the 'validation gold standard'.
A direct translation was not possible, as medline indexing for DCM and the keywords search field were not available in embase. We also used the 'focus' function to improve precision. The resulting search filter has 100% sensitivity in testing.
We have developed a validated search filter capable of retrieving DCM references in embase with high sensitivity. In the absence of consistent terminology and indexing, this will support more efficient and robust evidence synthesis in the field.
退行性颈椎脊髓病（DCM）是最近提出的一个概括性术语，用于描述继发于脊柱退变的有症状的颈椎脊髓压迫。目前，对DCM的文献检索面临挑战，因为“DCM”一词的使用不一致，有许多重叠的关键词和大量同义词。
在此，我们将之前用于Ovid Medline数据库的检索过滤器应用于Ovid Embase数据库，以支持全面的文献检索。Embase和Medline均被推荐作为系统评价的最低要求。
我们之前研究中在Embase中识别出的参考文献形成了一个“开发金标准”参考文献数据库（N = 220）。检索过滤器针对Embase进行了调整，并与参考文献数据库进行核对。然后根据“验证金标准”对该过滤器进行验证。
由于Embase中没有DCM的Medline索引和关键词检索字段，无法进行直接翻译。我们还使用了“聚焦”功能来提高精度。所得检索过滤器在测试中的灵敏度为100%。
我们开发了一种经过验证的检索过滤器，能够以高灵敏度在Embase中检索DCM参考文献。在缺乏一致术语和索引的情况下，这将支持该领域更高效、更可靠的证据综合。
