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Table 3 Combination of terms with the best specificity (keeping sensitivity ≥50%) for detecting mental health content in MEDLINE in 2000 and performance when combined with the most specific strategy for detecting treatment studies

From: Optimal search strategies for identifying mental health content in MEDLINE: an analytic survey

Search Strategy OVID search*

Sensitivity (%) (95% CI)

Specificity (%) (95% CI)

Precision (%) (95% CI)

Accuracy (%) (95% CI)

Best Specificity

    

psychiatr:.mp.

OR exp mood disorders

OR psycho:.tw.

(n = 3,277)

51.7 (50.0 to 53.4)

(n = 8,956)

97.1 (96.7 to 97.4)

(n = 1,954)

86.6 (85.1 to 88.2)

(n = 12,233)

84.9 (84.3 to 85.6)

Above strategy "ANDed" with best specificity strategy for detecting methodology sound treatment studies

    

randomized controlled trial.mp.

OR randomized controlled trial.pt.

(n = 129)

62.0 (53.1 to 70.4)

(n = 1,825)

98.0 (97.2 to 98.6)

(n = 117)

68.4 (59.1 to 76.7)

(n = 1,954)

95.6 (94.6 to 96.5)

  1. *Search strategies are reported using Ovid's search engine syntax for MEDLINE.
  2. : = truncation; mp = multiple posting – term appears in title, abstract, or subject heading; exp = explode, a search term that automatically includes closely related indexing terms; tw = textword (word or phrase appears in title or abstract); pt = publication type.
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Annals of General Psychiatry

ISSN: 1744-859X