How to keep up with the critical care literature and avoid being buried alive.
OBJECTIVE
To provide practical suggestions for accessing, utilizing, and storing the rapidly expanding literature on critical care.


METHODS
Original research on information sources for clinicians and techniques for keeping up with the literature, found through bibliographic searches, our personal files, and consultation with critical care colleagues.


RESULTS
Suggestions for keeping up with the critical care literature include: 1) focus the clinical question; 2) locate literature using bibliographic databases; 3) use original journal articles; 4) use systematic reviews with confidence; 5) use text-books with caution; 6) read the preappraised literature; 7) abandon advertisements; 8) throw away the throwaways; 9) teach yourself critical appraisal; 10) be wary of overinterpretation of substitute end points; 11) teach yourself basic clinical statistics; 12) engage in effective browsing; 13) store useful articles; 14) invest in informatics; and 15) implement evidence-based practice guidelines.


CONCLUSIONS
Efficient access, appraisal, and application of the literature on intensive care are basic skills for intensivists, who have adopted a variety of resourceful and pragmatic methods for "keeping up."
Cook
D J
DJ
Department of Medicine, McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Meade
M O
MO
Fink
M P
MP
D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management; D011643:Publishing